Bulgarian Empire

Vol 4 Chapter 82: East Line Change 2

Before the outbreak of the First World War, due to the influence of the Russo-Japanese War, the armed forces of various countries generally adopted flank tactics, including the two Balkan wars. Bulgarian troops mostly adopted flank tactics.

However, after the outbreak of the World War, everyone suddenly discovered that the lines of defense on both sides were moving several hundred kilometers, and even the defense line of the Eastern Front was now thousands of kilometers. It was extremely difficult for the troops to detour, so they began to use frontal forcible breakthrough tactics.

However, with the advent of planes, it is difficult to hide the enemy's eyes from the enemy's sight when a large army marches. Everyone can judge the enemy's main attack direction through the deployment of the army, and it is not so easy to force a frontal breakthrough!

This problem also troubles commanders all over the world. This time the Russians organized a large-scale offensive since the outbreak of the World War, and naturally they have to face this problem.

The three front armies, more than 4.8 million troops, are attacking at the same time. This line of defense is more than 1,000 kilometers long, and it is definitely impossible for the flanks to turn around. As for finding a positive breakthrough for weak points? The reconnaissance planes of the Allies are still flying in the sky!

In order to solve this problem, Brusilov, the commander of the Russian Southwest Front Army, convened a meeting with the commanders of the various army groups under its jurisdiction on February 18, and finally decided that each army group would choose its own breakthrough location.

In the end, the entire Southwest Front Army selected more than 30 breakthrough points on the front line of the offensive that was o kilometers long.

Brusilov admitted that this would disperse forces, but it would also prevent the enemy from judging the direction of the main attack. Naturally, they would not be able to effectively use mobile forces, which would easily cause tightness across the board and help achieve the suddenness of the attack.

After seeing Brusilov's deployment, he can only sigh that this is a tactic tailored for the Russians, and everyone can't learn it!

At least in Europe, this tactic is only suitable for Russians to play, and only they can play the best tactics.

According to Brusilov's deployment, as long as one point breaks through, the enemy's line of defense will be torn apart, and the Russians with superior military strength can advance quickly.

As the biggest hero of this battle, the Southwest Front Army of the Russian Empire has eight armies, with 80 infantry divisions and 20 cavalry divisions, with a total of 10,600 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, and 2,38 artillery; the opposite Austrian army has 59. There are 7 infantry divisions and 10 cavalry divisions, with a total of 750,000 infantry, 40,000 cavalry, and 1986 artillery pieces.

Although the Russian army had superior strength, its advantage as the offensive side was not great. According to the mainstream view at the time, the Russian army was simply unable to break through the deep defense line of the Austro-Hungarian army.

On March 26, the Russian army launched a full-scale offensive on a front line of thousands of kilometers. The other two fronts were still playing fairly, but the Southwest Front changed its tactics.

They cancelled long-term artillery fire preparations and charged after only one round of artillery fire. To the surprise of the Austrian army, the Southwest Front Army attacked almost all of their defense lines.

The Russian infantry took the lead in tearing apart the defensive joint between the Austrian Army’s 2nd and 4th Army Groups. When the Austrian Commander, Grand Duke Ferdinand, hurriedly invested in all the reserves to close the gap, the Russian 8th Army, which was responsible for the main attack, was defeated. The 7th Army of the Austrian Army then rounded the rear of the 4th Army of the Austrian Army from north to south.

In just two days, the Russian army completely broke through the first fortifications of the Austrian army. The three armies of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were completely defeated. The Austrian soldiers threw down their weapons and fled westward in groups.

On April 6, the Russian army seized Lutsk, the logistic material center of the Austrian army. It is ridiculous that until this time, the Austrian army commander, Grand Duke Ferdinand, had not figured out where the main attack direction of the Russian army was, so he had to get mixed up in the rout. Flee in a hurry.

Under the uncharacteristic Russian offensive, the Austrian army collapsed across the board, about 350,000 people became prisoners of war, and the casualties were no less than 60,000.

Now the Russian forward force can already see the Carpathian Pass. Once it breaks through there, the Austrian-Hungarian capital of Vienna will be within easy reach.

Looking at the battle report, Ferdinand was a little speechless. This is not because the Russians are too powerful, but because the Austro-Hungarian army is too wasteful!

First of all, this reaction is too slow, and the cooperation between the troops is also very problematic. When the Russians attack, they can fully support each other.

The Austro-Hungarian army guarded their positions, regardless of how the brothers next door fought. This is one of the reasons why the defense line was broken so quickly.

The performance later is even worse. Even if there is a gap in the defense, there is always a reserve team. As long as the gap is blocked in time, there is still a chance to hold the defense.

It's a pity that this Austrian commander with the same name is also a complete idiot. No matter which direction the Russians attack from, you can't just send a reserve team to plug the gap and you can't invest all at once?

Even if Galicia loses, you can build a new line of defense again and run away directly. What's the matter? Had it not been for the German reinforcements in time, the Bulgarian army would now go to Vienna to join forces with the Russians.

The Germans next door performed much better. Although they suffered heavy losses, the Russian army suddenly slammed behind them from the Austro-Hungarian defense line, but they responded in time and immediately built fortification defenses. They are still PKing with the Russians, and there is no full line. collapse.

Based on the analysis of the news from the Military Observer Group, the Russians said that they had killed two million enemies, which is theoretically reasonable. They did maimed more than two million Austrian troops.

In this battle, the casualties of the Germans alone amounted to more than 400,000, and the casualties of the Austro-Hungarian army were about 1.5 million. The Russians’ own casualties were about 1.5 to 600 thousand.

From the perspective of the results, if it is placed in Bulgaria, this is a battle that will hurt both sides. Even if it is placed in the British and French houses, it will be declared a tragic victory, but it is a complete victory in the Teddy Bear!

Well, in fact, the results of the Russian Southwest Front Army were very good. The casualty ratio was just dragged by the other two fronts and forcibly pulled up.

In particular, the North Front Army, which was responsible for attacking East Prussia, was defeated by the German defenders at the beginning. If it hadn’t been for the Southwest Front Army to break through the Austro-Hungarian line of defense in time and interspersed with the Germans’ rear, otherwise the Tsarist government would receive it. Not a victory.

Secretly despising the low taste of Nicholas II, Ferdinand still envied him. If Bulgaria had a population of a bear, he would have killed the Austro-Hungarian Empire a long time ago, so why pretend to be a grandson?

But the good days for the Russians ended here. After the defense of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken, the German Chief of Staff Falkenhausen and the Austrian Chief of Staff Herzendorf reached an agreement.

Through the domestic emergency mobilization, the Austrian army put together 24 divisions, drew 10 divisions from Belgrade, and 3 divisions from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Germans drew 15 divisions from the Western Front Verdun battlefield. .uukanshu.com mobilized another 22 divisions in the country and sent them to the east line by rail.

After Germany and Austria increased their troops by one million to the east, the Russian military advantage no longer existed. Ferdinand knew that the front of the Allies had stabilized.

Of course, the Tsarist government in St. Petersburg did not think so. They also planned to push down the Austro-Hungarian Empire in one go, and then wage a decisive battle with the Germans.

In any case, Ferdinand sent a congratulatory message to St. Petersburg for the first time, boasting the Russian army to the sky, with a clear goal that he hoped that the Russians would continue to overthrow the Allies.

...

While Russia exploded, Bulgaria was not idle, and the battle of Sicily also came to an end. Due to the loss of sea dominance, Italy was unable to provide strong support to Sicily, and the Mafia naturally could not do the regular army.

Under the command of Lieutenant General Cremon Ivanlov, the 1st, 2nd, 1st, 5th, and 2nd and 3rd Divisions of the Bulgarian 6th Army began operations on February 8.

After successfully boarding the 6th, the French also drew two colonial infantry divisions from Tunisia, and followed them with a faceless expression. Before this, John Bull also drew an Indian division from Egypt.

It seems that the allure of Sicily is great, and the two big hooligans are staring at this place, and they don't care about their face.

Seeing the reaction of Britain and France, Ferdinand did not say anything, anyway, he did not think about swallowing Sicily alone, which is very unrealistic.

The arrival of Britain and France also reduced the casualties of the Bulgarian army. Anyway, they were all colonial troops, so they were naturally used as cannon fodder.

This is also the tacit agreement reached between the three countries. Britain and France naturally have to pay a price if they want to take advantage.

...

,wonderful!

(m..=)

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