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Volume 3 Far East Story Chapter 949 The Air Force failed to dispatch

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    "It is a taboo for military officers to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly. You all must remember this. The battle of Yekaterinoslav was a complete defeat. The first defeat was in the mind. The Kharkiv Cluster's strategy was to lure the enemy into action.  If that didn't work, they would besiege the city and call for reinforcements, so General Utsunomiya left the main force of the cluster in Krasnorad, 90 kilometers away, including the 1st Mixed Armored Brigade, while the four federal infantry divisions did not leave Kharkov as reserves.  To the south, even at the beginning of the second phase of the battle, the 7th and 9th federal infantry divisions were still stranded in Belgorod waiting for the train!¡±

    The roar of the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces caused the entire conference room to be silent again. It was obvious that the young King of China was on the verge of going berserk. After finally calming down his emotions, Wang Geng continued to point at the battle map to explain,

    "In my heart, I'm a big fan of success. I just want to destroy everything in one go and push it to the Dnipro River to clean up the battlefield. I think that the 29th German Infantry Corps has been broken and will not defend Yekaterinoslav, let alone  Take the initiative to fight back and make your own dumplings!

    Having been fooled by von Neuhaus, the two mixed brigades of Kikuchi and Muto combined nearly 100 75mm mountain-running artillery pieces, and they crackled and fired happily when bombarding the city.  The division-affiliated artillery regiment was killed in one fell swoop!  Who is to blame?  Is it to blame the cluster field heavy artillery brigade for not rushing to the front line as soon as possible?  Or is it because the Germans have 24 more 150mm Krupp heavy howitzers than they do?  !  "

    The stern and heart-wrenching voice of the Commander-in-Chief echoed in the conference room. Some of the coalition generals were thoughtful, some clenched their fists, and some were distracted and thought about what they would have done if they had been in command on the battlefield at that time.  Will he win or win?

    "Commander-in-Chief, could it be that the Allied Air Force was unable to provide support on the ground due to bad weather, which resulted in Kikuchi and Muto brigade being at a disadvantage in terms of firepower?" Li Mingzhong boldly raised his hand and said below.

    "Can't you fight a war without air superiority? The European War ended a few years ago. The Germans have never had the upper hand in the number of fighter jets on the Western Front. They relied on flexible dispatch and the wit and bravery of the pilots! You guys  Do you think war is just one, two, three rushes and killings?

    Let me tell you, in the previous major battles on the Western Front or the Eastern Front, whether the Allies or the Allies, the offensive side's artillery preparation before each battle was as short as five or six hours, and as long as a week, then  They are all bombarded by heavy artillery of 150 mm or more. If you can't withstand the enemy's artillery fire, why fight?  !  Otherwise, why would we need it?  !  "Wang Geng severely taught the coalition generals present.

    "Commander-in-Chief, the Kharkiv cluster also wants to use its troops quickly. Before the German troops in Kiev and Donetsk can rescue Yekaterinoslav, don't you want to test the defensive strength of this city? It's a pity that the aviation team failed.  If you join the battle, you might be able to capture the opponent¡¯s position and city!¡±

    Xiong Shihui also boldly raised his hand to speak below. He did not want to intercede for the two Japanese brigade commanders, Kikuchi and Muto, but felt that his commander-in-chief was a bit rude. Such words would easily be extreme and let his emotions affect the front line.  judgment and evaluation

    ? 9:45 on August 8, 1918, the combat conference room of the Samara Allied Forces Headquarters,

    "Commander-in-Chief, I don't know, what are the casualties of the Kharkiv cluster" As the deputy chief of staff, Jiang Fangzhen asked this question carefully. He and Tanaka Yiichi both rushed back from their respective group army stations early this morning.  , the road was muddy and bumpy for both of them, and the latest battle report and casualty statistics of Taro Utsunomiya, who retreated to Kharkov, were only reported in the early morning.

    "Director Qian, please read the battle report of the Kharkov cluster!" Wang Geng dropped the baton in his hand angrily and threw this heavy topic to Qian Tianfu.

    "In the second phase of the battle that lasted for a week, the Kikuchi brigade on the front line attacking Yekaterinoslav lost more than half, the reinforced 3rd Field Artillery Regiment was completely wiped out, Regiment Commander Tanaka was killed, and the brigade headquarters  Encountered artillery fire during the breakout, the brigade commander Kikuchi was killed, the commander of the 6th Infantry Regiment, Captain Sugimoto, was killed, and the commander of the 18th Infantry Regiment, Masago Kizaki, was wounded. The number of casualties exceeded 5,000, including 2,125 killed and 892 missing!  , 2,312 people were injured and all the artillery was lost!¡±

    "The 23rd Muto Mixed Infantry Brigade suffered slightly better casualties. The field artillery regiment lost 70%, and the two infantry regiments lost two-fifths. Only those above the regimental commander were wounded but not killed. The entire brigade suffered less than 10% casualties.  4,000 people, 1,232 killed, 687 missing, and 1,833 wounded.¡±

    "As the second echelon, the 13th Mixed Infantry Brigade and the 14th Mixed Infantry Brigade suffered nearly one-third casualties, the artillery wing lost nearly half, and the ** Field Heavy Artillery Brigade lost a quarter! In Krasno  During the Lad breakout, it was the 1st Mixed Armored Brigade that opened the gap and encirclement. However, Colonel Lu's armored brigade lost one-third of its vehicles and one-quarter of its personnel., if it were not for the fighting of the armored brigades, the four mixed brigades and group headquarters surrounded by six German infantry divisions would probably not be able to break through the encirclement!  "

    Qian Tianfu's tone and expression were very serious when he read the battle report, and the conference room was completely silent at the moment. Obviously, the defeat that the Commander-in-Chief said was an out-and-out defeat, and the casualties were greater than everyone expected.  The Chinese armored forces also suffered heavy losses, and Shinnosuke Kikuchi, the commander of the 5th mixed infantry brigade, was actually killed in action. This can be regarded as the highest-ranking general of the coalition forces who died on the battlefield since the Battle of Ufa!

    Overall, the Kharkov cluster suffered more than 30,000 casualties in this attack, of which nearly 10,000 were killed, more than 2,000 were missing, and more than 18,000 were injured. Artillery and armored units suffered serious losses. The casualties of the main German army were roughly 2  About 10,000 people, or even less The three federal infantry divisions stayed on the front line in Kharkov and did not fight. Otherwise, our casualties would be even greater, because these four infantry divisions have mostly new recruits and the artillery battalions have been transferred to strengthen them.  Mixed brigade and armored brigade.

    After Qian Tianfu read the battle report, he raised his head and looked at Wang Geng. The commander-in-chief of the coalition forces waved his hand, indicating that he should continue. So the director of the war room picked up the baton and returned to the map to continue explaining the battle situation.

    ¡°In the second phase of the Ukrainian campaign, due to severe climate changes, the aviation fleet that the coalition was proud of was unable to dispatch to support the ground battle!
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