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Volume 3 Far East Story Chapter 715 (4) A decision was made

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    "How is the progress of Yonezawa Kogoro's 4th Cavalry Regiment? Are there no traces of the enemy on the left bank of the North Donets River or on the flat plain?" Utsunomiya Taro frowned and asked.

    "The 4th Cavalry Regiment has reached as far as 5 kilometers across the river west of Kharkiv. However, due to the obstruction of the Sever Donetsk River, although the Ukrainian position on the other side of the river has been seen, the 4th Cavalry Regiment cannot  The regiment has not crossed the river to launch an attack for the time being. Since the left bank of the North Donets River is full of bushes and swamps, the progress of the 4th Yoneza Cavalry Regiment is slower than expected! The troops are also relatively tired! "

    Lieutenant General Tashijiro, the commander of the division, also frowned at this moment. The Central Route Army made a heavy blow during the attack on the northern defense line this morning. Although the progress of several armies was going smoothly at this time, the troops reached the outskirts of Kharkov.  It is already a bit exhausted, especially the artillery unit is still far behind the brigade, and both the commander of the front army, Taro Utsunomiya, and the former enemy commander, Jiro Oba, are a little worried about gains and losses at this time.

    "Your Excellency, Commander, the current situation is quite complicated. We did not expect it." Chapter "The Germans and Ukrainians have such a good sense of smell that they retreated so quickly overnight. Our original plan was to advance to the city of Kharkov and then encircle it without attacking.  Let's lay siege to the city and call for reinforcements. Let's take a look first. The enemy may try to trick us into using an empty city. The enemy may not intend to hold on to Kharkov city. Otherwise, the 1st and 2nd infantry divisions have no reason not to withdraw directly to the city along the railway.  Instead, march on foot to hide in the Kharkov forest to the east!"

    Shunroku Hata told the truth, if the Center Army on the first line of defense in the morning was hit by the enemy's empty city strategy, it would be outrageous if they were hit by another empty city strategy at the gates of Kharkov. The Southwest Front Army and the Japanese Third Division of the Center Army  Where is the dignity of Shang and Xia?  Where do you put the dignity of General Utsunomiya and Lieutenant General Oba?

    "Jun Dating, Chief of Staff, how about we let the 13th Federal Infantry Division in the center launch a tentative attack? The Engineer Regiment is repairing railway lines and roads. By tonight, more than 30 kilometers of railways should be repaired. Although  The left and right wing detachments are exhausted, but the Voronezh Division in the center should still have some vitality. If I had known better, I would have put Mr. Mutš­'s 23rd Infantry Brigade in the center!"

    Taro Utsunomiya scratched his head and said with a trace of regret, this guy, like Oba, didn't expect that the 1st and 2nd main divisions of the Ukrainian infantry were actually in the forest. Beilu Huanyan and Eizaki Masago had already taken care of it. If they had known it earlier,  Why let Muto lead the 23rd Infantry Brigade to rush into the forest for reinforcements? If they attack directly from the center, they may have entered the city of Kharkov by now.

    "Our military strength has always been a little stretched. The main force of the Third Division, plus the Chinese Armored Regiment and the 13th Federal Infantry Division, only has more than 40,000 people at full strength. The opponent's four main divisions of the Ukrainian 1st Group Army have more than 50,000 people. There are also  2 volunteer divisions, plus a German reserve infantry division 47th, our strength comparison is almost 1:2. Even if the German infantry divisions withdraw at this time, as long as there are still two Ukrainian infantry divisions in Kharkov and  With two volunteer divisions, our troops are far from enough to besiege the city! If we rush to attack in a hurry, we may fall into the enemy's trap!"

    Shunroku Hata's words were clearly meant to remind Utsunomiya not to use force to make him lose his mind. He thought that Izaki Masago had won a battle with less and more, so he didn't take the Ukrainians seriously. Izizaki Masago's infantry  Even if the 18th Regiment won the battle, it would still be a hard battle. Look at this posture of yelling at the top of your lungs for rest and replenishment after the battle. The 18th Infantry Regiment  The regiment suffered only a few hundred casualties under the enemy's superior artillery fire?  Shunroku Hata was a little unconvinced. As for whether the results were as many as 6,000 enemies wiped out, it was also a mystery. At least it was a fact that more than one regiment of Ukrainian commanders were not captured, right?

    "Chief of Staff, although the siege and reinforcements were previously planned, since the enemy forces in the direction of Kharkov are almost twice as many as ours, in this case, we need to strike while the iron is hot and take advantage of the Allied Air Force's air superiority to defeat them one by one first.  Isn't it a good idea to take down Kharkov? The Art of War says that if the rules are insufficient, the attack will be sufficient. Isn't it applicable to the current situation? Although the artillery unit is not in place yet, if the coalition air force can provide air support, let's  The 13th Federal Infantry Division¡¯s tentative attack in the center is a good idea, I think!¡±

    Jiro Oba was a little eager to give it a try. He was thinking that when Voronezh led the 13th Infantry Division in the middle to start the battle and found out the strength of the enemy's defense forces, Major General Kikuchi's 5th Infantry Brigade would be almost ready, and the 6th Infantry Regiment would be ready.  With the support of the Chinese armored battalion, they took advantage of the opportunity to attack "Beiyang 1917" from the northwest corner. Then Muto's 23rd Infantry Brigade rushed to the northeast corner before evening. Lu Huanyan's armored regiment had rested for a long time and should have recovered. Maybe  With a three-pronged approach, the city of Kharkov is achieved!

    ¡°The 13th Federal Infantry Division¡¯s unit reorganization time is still short, and it is difficult to use such a unit to fightThe effect of the tough battle is still unknown, but the coalition air force can manage to launch another air strike before evening, and let Voronezh and his 13th Infantry Division go up to explore the strength of the Ukrainians!  Chief of Staff Hata, it¡¯s settled, pass on my order and request the Allied Air Force to dispatch a bomber brigade to attack the ring position on the northern outskirts of Kharkov. At 15:30 in the afternoon, order the 13th Federal Infantry Division to launch a frontal attack!  "

    Army General Taro Utsunomiya, commander of the Southwest Front and commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian campaign, finally made a decision!

    July 30, 1918 14:15 Headquarters of the 13th Volga Federal Infantry Division five kilometers north of Kharkov

    "Reporting to the division commander, there is a call from the former enemy headquarters, requesting our department to launch a frontal attack on the ring defense line in the northern suburbs of Kharkov no later than 15:00. Around 14:30, the coalition air force will launch a group of FR18 fighter-bombers to attack  Air attack on the northern position of Kharkov!" Alexander Alexander Besklovny, chief of staff of the 13th Federal Infantry Division, quickly walked into a house next to the railway where the division headquarters was located.

    "Are you kidding me? My troops haven't slept a wink since 4 o'clock in the morning. They have traveled almost 40 kilometers from the border to here. How badly have the railways and roads been damaged by the Ukrainians?! Why don't I take a break to recover?  How to launch an offensive? Besides, our division's artillery regiment is still lagging behind, and it will take at least an hour to catch up!" Division Commander Liukin Alexeevich Voronezh took the command from the Chief of Staff with a frown on his face.  After passing the telegram, I started shouting while reading it.
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