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Volume 3 Far East Story Chapter 684 (1) If you can¡¯t defeat, retreat

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    "What is this? Are you holding your head and being bombed? Then we might as well withdraw from the first line of defense. We can't expect the coalition air force to give up air strikes and only use ground forces to advance and attack, right? But then Kharkov will still need  Don't you want to defend Ukraine?" Simon Petliura said disapprovingly.

    "The second option is to temporarily abandon Kharkov and trade space for time. The effect of air strikes at night will be much worse. We can command the troops to withdraw south and west, cede the territory to the Allied forces, and stretch their logistics supply.  , while waiting for reinforcements from our aviation fleet and ground anti-aircraft artillery fire. Once our new aviation fleet arrives in Ukraine, I believe Hermann Wilhelm Goering will learn a lesson, give a severe lesson to the Allied Allied Air Force, and regain the skies over Ukraine  At that time, we will drive the Allied forces out of Ukraine and regain Kharkov!¡±

    It was actually not easy for Von Francois to make the decision to withdraw his troops. Withdrawing without fighting would bring great risks to the 62-year-old infantry general. He would be easily slandered in the back and would abandon his armor without firing a single shot.  It damaged the reputation and dignity of the German Army. If Ludendorff, the de facto Supreme Commander of the German Army who had a feud with him, used the issue again, von Francois' dismissal would be considered a minor offense, and he might even have to go to a military court!

    However, even if there is such a risk in retreating, von Francois has decided not to start a war with the opponent's ground forces when the coalition has huge air superiority. This is by no means a wise decision. His heavy artillery position will be called upon by the opponent.  If it is destroyed by an air strike, it is impossible to defend the position just by relying on the machine guns in the trenches that have escaped the air strike. Especially when faced with the superior firepower coverage of the opponent's open space and ground, this battle is simply impossible to fight. "" Look

    19:15, 19:15, 29 January 1919, Kharkiv South Railway Station, the former enemy headquarters of the German-Ukrainian Allied Forces

    When Hermann von Francois and his Chief of Staff Joseph von Dietrich had previously exchanged views, they had also considered whether to bring the German division up to replace the Ukrainian division and guard the north of Kharkov.  The first line of defense, this line of defense built by tens of thousands of people of the entire Ukrainian 1st Army under the guidance of the German Engineer Corps, is ten kilometers wide from east to west and 2.5 kilometers deep. The length of the flank defense line along the right bank of the North Donets River is  Ten kilometers, the depth is also 2.5 kilometers.

    This T-shaped defense line is criss-crossed with trenches, communication trenches, shelters, heavy machine gun light and dark fire points, mortar positions, and anti-aircraft anti-aircraft guns. The core fire support is the central artillery cluster position behind the joint.

    Von Francois actually knew in his heart that when the DH4 and FR1 of the Allied Air Force were used as light bombers, although the 150-pound and 5-pound aerial bombs dropped could cause damage to the trench and fortification area, as long as the personnel were concealed and evaded in time,  appropriate, the air strike could not cause a fatal blow to the Ukrainian National Army hiding in the anti-gun shelter.

    The greatest threat from the Allied Air Force's air strikes was the central artillery group position of the defenders. Although the first line of defense north of Kharkov is said to be an unbreakable trench and fortification area, it is by no means a reinforced concrete line like the Siegfried Line.  The completed permanent fortifications are nothing more than semi-permanent field defenses built with logs and I-beams.

    The four artillery regiment positions of the Ukrainian National Army lost more than 60 cannons in an afternoon of indiscriminate bombing by the coalition air force. This is because the cannons on the central artillery position are all arranged in the open air, but there is no reinforced concrete.  Although the fortress protection was covered with a large number of branches and camouflage, and some shelters were built to avoid air attacks and artillery bombardments, it was by no means complete enough to push all the cannons placed on the position into hiding.

    In fact, on the afternoon of March 29, the first wave of air strikes by the coalition air force dispatched more than 120 fighter sorties. The main targets were Kharkov, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Luhansk and Krasno  The five nearby German field airfields and their surrounding ground anti-aircraft artillery battalion positions were obtained.

    The coalition air force's second wave of more than 120 fighter sorties focused on the first defensive line of defense north of Kharkov, targeting the 1st Division of the Ukrainian National Army, which was battered by the overwhelming coalition air strike.  As far as the 2nd Division is concerned, after the second wave of coalition fighters leave the battlefield, it is a normal idea to rescuing the wounded while pushing heavy machine guns and artillery into combat positions to prepare for the attack of enemy ground troops.

    As a result, the Central Artillery Group, which the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Infantry Divisions relied on, with 192 cannons ready to inflict huge damage to the invaders, became the key target of the third wave of air strikes by the coalition air force. 120 fighter planes dropped 160 25-pound bombs.  Aerial bombs carried by the heavy SE5 biplane fighter, 320 55-pound aerial bombs carried by the DH4, and 160 150-pound bombs carried by the FR1.

    It is quite lucky that only 60 of the 192 cannons on the Central Artillery Group position of the Ukrainian National Army were lost under the intensive attack of 640 aerial bombs. Theoretically, on average, each cannon destroyedIt had to be hit by more than 10 aerial bombs.

    For Hermann von Francois, if he replaced the German divisions to defend the front-line positions, it would be equivalent to sending his direct troops up to endure air raids, bombings and artillery bombardments. When the opponent's ground troops attacked, he would only be afraid of his own troops.  In addition to the heavy machine guns and mortars in the trenches that can still play a role, the artillery group behind them may incur an air attack from the opponent as soon as it appears. If all the artillery on our side is exhausted, the remaining battle is equivalent to the German infantry.  The heavy machine guns + mortars are against the heavy machine guns, mortars, artillery, aerial bombs, and low-altitude strafing by fighter planes of the attacking Allied forces. This battle is definitely not easy to fight, or even impossible to fight!

    Of course, ideally, the artillery positions of both sides would be protected by maximum camouflage and anti-aircraft artillery battalions, but any general would not be so arrogant that he would hide his artillery in a hole when the other party is about to launch an attack.  , the enemy's artillery strike gained the upper hand, but the other party's preemptive attack failed. This afternoon, the central artillery cluster position of the Ukrainian National Army obviously did not belong to the lucky ones who could strike later.

    "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we must trade space for time. In a positional battle, it is easy for the opponent to detect the location of our artillery positions. When we lose air supremacy, we do not even have a chance to engage in an artillery battle with the opponent. The coalition air force will not let go.  Instead of having any chance of preemptive air strikes on our artillery positions, we suggest that you and your national army abandon the plan to defend the positions north of Kharkov with the main force, and withdraw the troops south to the ring north of Kharkov.  The city defense line is up!"
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