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Volume 3 Far East Story Chapter 470 Dilemma

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    12:00 on July 14, 1918 near the village of Petropavlovka on the upper reaches of the Belaya River

    The rushing Belaya River surged out from the mountains to the east and headed west, blocking the remainder of the First Army of the Soviet Eastern Front. Tukhachevsky led the remaining cavalry regiment of the Chaboyang Cavalry Division,  One person and two horses drove for a long time, but their way was blocked by the Belaya River in front of them.  .  .

    "Comrade Commander, I asked a few fellow villagers that in order to cross the river, we must go west and downstream. Only at Mereuz Ferry north of Kumertau can large troops cross the river. This section is the upper reaches of the Belaya River.  , There are high mountains and steep rivers all the way, and no matter how good the water quality is, we can¡¯t cross it, not to mention we have so many war horses and cavalry!¡±

    Furmanov, the acting commander of the cavalry division, led the vanguard battalion to the front line of the army. He was sweating and turned back to report. He was obviously a little anxious. The cavalrymen behind him were accompanied by two local people. They looked quite old.  , the skinny man was holding a piece of black bread given by the cavalry and stuffing it into his mouth. Obviously there was a shortage of food in this place, and the people were very hungry.

    "Old man, eat slowly and don't choke. What's your name? Where is this place? How many people are there? Is there a place to cross the river?" Tukhachevsky jumped off the horse and took it from the guard beside him.  He handed a sheepskin water bag to the old man in front of him and asked pleasantly.

    The two old men found by the avant-garde camp were obviously local Bashkirs. The Bashkirs (Russian: §¢a§ê?opttap) are a Turkic nation that mainly lives in the Ural Mountains.  On the southern slopes and the nearby plains, their language is Bashkir based on Kipchak, which is very close to Tatar. Many Bashkirs also speak Tatar, and most Bashkir  Shkir people speak Russian.

    Some Bashkir people are engaged in agriculture, raising cattle and beekeeping. The nomadic Bashkir people raise cattle in the mountains and grasslands. In Wang Geng's previous life, Soviet Russia later established Bashkaya with Ufa as its capital.  The main components of the population of the Republic of Kortostan are Russians, Tatars and Bashkirs, about 25% each, and the rest are a large number of ethnic minorities. However, at this time and space in 1918, Tatars  The proportion of Tatars and Bashkirs is significantly higher than that of Russians.

    Fortunately, the Bashkir fellow who looked like an old shepherd understood Tukhachevsky's question. The Red Army general in front of him was short in stature and had a stubble on his face, but his face was quite kind. In addition, he had eaten half of a  After eating the black bread, the slightly taller old shepherd obviously regained some energy and strength, and said in a low voice,

    "In reply to your words, people in the village call me Old Hamich, the sheep herder. Not far ahead is the village of Petropavlovka. There used to be more than a hundred families in the village, but in this chaos of war, there are riots everywhere.  Due to the food shortage, the government came to ask for people and requisition food again. Most of the young people in the village ran to the east of the Ural Mountains, leaving a dozen old people who could not walk anymore and were waiting to die in the village.  If I hadn¡¯t met you today and given you a piece of black bread, Fool Joe and I would have almost starved to death."

    Old Hamich was obviously not timid, but the short old man named Foolish Joe was extremely thin and timid. He just hid behind Hamich and gnawed the stone-like piece of black bread in his hand.  My eyes were choked with crumbs, and I was beating my chest right now.

    Old Ha Mi Chi turned around and patted Fool Qiao on the back to cheer him up, while feeding his old friend some water. After struggling for a long time, he finally calmed down.

    "Old man, are there ferries and boats here? What do you usually do when you have to cross the river?" Xia Boyang, who was demoted to a guard battalion, leaned over and stuffed the lunch in his hand and half a piece of black bread into the old Hami.  Chi asked in a friendly manner.

    "Ahem, thank you, sir. To answer your question, the people in the village have to cross the river That's a long way to go If you go upstream and cross the mountains it takes a day and a half to walk. Don't  There is an iron chain bridge in the upper reaches of the Raya River, but it can only cross people, and you can't cross it with horses." Old Ha Michi turned around and thanked Xia Boyang with a bow, and tightly held the black bread in his hand.  , as if he was afraid of being snatched away, he answered.

    Xia Boyang, the former commander of the cavalry division, was still wearing a black leather hunting suit and a Cossack leather hat in this July weather, so his military appearance and conduct looked more like a senior general of the Red Army, while Tukhachevsky  This guy only wore a gray Red Army soldier's cloth uniform and a pointed Red Army hat. Unless he said anything, it would be impossible to tell that he was the supreme commander of this team.

    When Old Hamich said this, the hearts of the Soviet Red Army soldiers present sank. Tukhachevsky, Xia Boyang, and Furmanov looked at each other, and then asked, "Can't horses be crossed on the chain bridge?"  ? It¡¯s not possible to walk over with a hand?¡±

    "No, that cable bridge is actually just two iron chains spanning the two banks, one back and one back. There is a hook and pulley on it. It needs to beThe people in the river used canvas straps to tie themselves firmly to the hooks, and just slid across the river along the drop. How could your horses be so heavy that they could hang on? The iron chains were about to break. I am so obsessed with it.  Chi is so thin, he could only carry one sheep in his arms at a time. Although your horse is also skinny, a whole horse like this will definitely not work!  "

    The old shepherd shook his head. When he was young, this old Hami Chi also left the village and traveled around to see the market. He could understand Russian and speak it quite fluently, but the local accent was quite strong.

    "Old man, where is the nearest ferry to the Belaya River downstream? Is there a bridge? Can people and horses cross it?" Furmanov asked pleasantly, while eating the remaining half of the black piece in his hand.  The bread was also given to the short old man, Fool Joe, who was hiding behind Old Hami.

    "There is no bridge downstream, but there is a ferry. But after the Belaya River crosses the valley in the southwest and turns north into the plains, there is a ferry and boats at the town of Meleuz. It is a chaotic day.  During the war, people in our village have not been to the lower reaches for a long time! There is really no ready-made ferry in the upper reaches before Meleuz." Old Hamichi thought for a moment.

    The surrounding Soviet and Russian Red Army officers looked at each other in confusion upon hearing this. Obviously, no one wanted to go upriver. It was obviously not a good idea for the cavalry to take such an uncertain mountain road. In contrast, everyone was more willing to go to the plains. In fact, this way south.  In order to avoid the reconnaissance of the coalition forces as much as possible and stay away from the Belaya River in the west, the cavalry who had walked along the western foothills of the Ural Mountains were miserable. The horseshoes of many war horses were severely worn when stepping on the rocks.

    Tukhachevsky frowned when he heard this, and then asked, "Old man, how long is the distance from here to Meleuz on the lower reaches of the Belaya River you mentioned?"

    Old Ha Mi Chi frowned and thought hard for a long time, stretched out his finger and said, "The mountain road is winding and winding. If I used to drive the sheep there, it would have taken a day to travel. As for how many versts, I can't figure out how many miles."  Now, if you ride a horse, maybe it will be faster, it will take a long time, right?"

    Tukhachevsky turned around and discussed with Furmanov and Xia Boyang in a low voice. Furmanov whispered, "Comrade Commander, we are cavalry. It is obviously not a good idea to abandon the horses on the chain bridge upstream.  , I think I have to go downstream and cross the river from Meleuz!"

    "Comrade Commander, if the coalition forces leave a garrison in Meleuz, we may not be able to rush through! In the town of Sterli Tamak, one battalion of the enemy blocked the attack of an infantry division and a cavalry brigade of our group army. Now,  The opponent also has the natural danger of the Belaya River. Even if the opponent only has one battalion to guard the other side, the probability of us rushing through is extremely slim! "

    Xia Boyang obviously thought further. He was deeply impressed by the combat effectiveness of the coalition battalion in Sterli Tamak Town. At this time, retreating and staying away from the enemy was the first priority. "Comrade Commander, I suggest  Unless it is a field battle, our cavalry units should avoid attacking coalition positions under any circumstances."

    As a cavalry general, Xia Boyang's tragic and one-sided ending to the Battle of Ufa led him to the same conclusion as Comrade Budyonni who was retreating far to the west.

    At this moment, several crisp gunshots were heard from the other side of the river in front, and then the gunshots continued all the way to the west from the other side of the river. The gunshots seemed to be passing out gradually and gradually. All the Soviet Red Army present were shocked!

    Soon, Yukov, the commander of the avant-garde battalion who was in charge of guarding the village by the river, came galloping on his horse. When he got there, he rolled off his horse and panted and reported,

    "Comrade Commander, Comrade Division Commander, Comrade Xia Boyang, the avant-garde battalion discovered the coalition guard post on the other side of the river. The other party seemed to be calling the police with gunshots. Unexpectedly, the gunshots continued all the way from here to the west. It seemed that the enemy on the other side was  We have been prepared for a long time! What should we do now!¡±

    The news brought by the battalion commander Yukov obviously made everyone's heart sink. Furmanov slapped his thigh hard and said, "This coalition is simply haunting. We took such a long detour to stick to the Ural."  Coming here from the foot of the mountain, you can't escape the opponent's sight. You said there is no ferry here, and they have posted guard posts on the other side. I really don't know what the coalition commander is thinking! "

    "Calm down! Don't forget that you are the commanders of the Red Army. The eyes of the soldiers are looking at you!" Tukhachevsky said calmly even though his heart was shaken.

    "Commander, the coalition forces have discovered it anyway. I guess the reason why they placed the river defense sentry so far away is because they obviously don't have enough troops. That's why they made their arms so big, so that they can have enough time to warn and mobilize the troops.  ! Let¡¯s go straight to the west and cross the river from Meleuz!¡±

    Xia Boyang was so blessed at this moment that he vaguely guessed the reason why the coalition forces on the other side of the Taiwan Strait had so exaggeratedly deployed guard posts.?Instead, it was suggested that the whole army simply attack Meleuz and cross the Belaya River from the lower reaches!
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