BXBX NOVEL Chapter 204: Jilinski's choice
"General, please order the artillery to withdraw. Otherwise, our artillery will be completely lost." The artillery commander asked General Samsonov with red eyes.
General Samsonov nodded. Because of the low literacy rate of the Russian army, artillery and other arms are undoubtedly extremely valuable arms. If it is wasted, it will be difficult to get replenished. Moreover, even if Admiral Samsonov was not an artilleryman, he could understand that in the current artillery battle, the Russian artillery was completely suppressed. The German artillery was so powerful that it completely crushed the Russian artillery in terms of quantity and performance. In particular, there are many large-caliber heavy artillery in the artillery of the German army. These heavy artillery are undoubtedly the main force in destroying the artillery positions of the Russian army. In this regard, the artillery of the Russian army has no way to compete with it.
The German shelling lasted less than twenty minutes and ended. It\'s not that they want to save ammunition, but that the artillery of the Russian army has already retreated, out of their range, so that they have no targets, and naturally they can\'t continue to fire. Otherwise, it is a waste of shells.
"Francois, our artillery is fighting so fiercely, won\'t it scare the Russians away? In that case, it will be a failure." Lieutenant General Mackensen, the commander of the 20th Army, was a little worried.
"Don\'t worry, the Russians are not so easily intimidated. Even if they know our true strength, they will not give up lightly. Because this is their only chance. If they miss this opportunity, the future I\'m afraid there will never be such an opportunity again. Therefore, the Russians will definitely stick to the end. Until they lose everything and see no hope." Lieutenant General Francois said.
Lieutenant General Mackensen nodded, agreeing with Lieutenant General Francois\' point of view.
For a long time, the existence of East Prussia has posed a huge threat to Russia. Sending troops from East Prussia, it will not take long to reach St. Petersburg. Therefore, the Russians have always wanted to occupy East Prussia and eliminate this threat. And this war is undoubtedly Russia\'s last chance. If this opportunity is missed, Russia will never have such an opportunity again. Therefore, the Russians will never give up easily.
On the other side, the Russian 2nd Army had to accept the fact that the German army was very strong, and did not dare to launch an attack easily.
"Your Excellency, the Germans have obviously preserved their strength. Now, they are showing all their strength in Tannenburg. If we want to capture Tannenburg, I am afraid it will be very difficult." A Russian general Said.
"Judging from the Germans\' strong firepower, if we want to capture Tannenberg, we will probably lose everything. At that time, it will be impossible to march towards Königsberg." Another Russian general also said .
"If you use Cossack cavalry to charge, can you break through the German defense line?" General Samsonov was still a little unwilling.
"Your Excellency, this is impossible. The Germans deployed a large number of machine guns on the defensive line, as well as many small-caliber rapid-fire guns. They must have concentrated the machine guns of the entire Eighth Army here. Otherwise, no There may be such intensive machine gun firepower. Under such intensive firepower, even if the heroic Cossack cavalry launched an attack, it would be nothing more than death." A cavalry division commander said.
The commanders of several other cavalry divisions also nodded quickly. Let them attack the line of defense with such dense firepower, wouldn\'t that let them die? Such a thing must never be done.
General Samsonov nodded, no longer pressing.
"Order the troops to switch to a comprehensive defense. In addition, report the situation we encountered to Warsaw immediately and ask for further instructions." Admiral Samsonov ordered.
Under such circumstances, he couldn\'t make up his mind on what to do next. If you attack, you will definitely suffer heavy losses, and you may not be able to win Tannenberg. But if you retreat, you will miss the opportunity. This also made him very unhappy. Therefore, Ivan Jilinski, who is far away in Warsaw, can only make a choice. Who made him the commander of the Northwest Front Army!
Warsaw, the headquarters of the Northwest Front of the Russian Army. Admiral Ivan Jilinsky frowned tightly, as if he had encountered some difficulty.
After receiving a telegram from General Samsonov, commander of the 2nd Army, he sat silently for almost half an hour.
"Damn the Germans, they must have been trying to show weakness. Then lure* the 2nd Army to Tannenburg, intending to eat our 2nd Army in one bite, and then turn around and deal with the 1st Army. Huh, What a good strategy!" Ivan Jilinsky snorted coldly. However, maybe even he himself didn\'t realize that his back was already wet with sweat.
Because, Ivan Jilinsky knew that if the German army\'s plan was successful, then the Russian army would not only be unable to defeat the German army and capture East Prussia, but would fall into a great crisis.
Ivan Jilinsky even subconsciously wanted to issue an order immediately to make the 2nd Army retreat immediately. However, he immediately rejected this approach. Because, this opportunity is really rare. The main force of the German army in the east is too small, it can be said to be the smallest in history. Once the German army mobilized its main force from the western front to return to the eastern front, the Russian army would never have such an opportunity again. Therefore, this opportunity is very rare and cannot be easily let go.
Admiral Ivan Jilinsky considered it carefully for a while before making a decision.
"Order the 2nd Army to continue to attack Tannenburg. In addition, send a telegram to the 1st Army, telling them that the main force of the German army has been broken by the 2nd Army. Together with the group army, attack the main force of the German army!" Jilinski ordered.
Ivan Jilinsky obviously planned to use his tactics. When the main force of the German 8th Army was assembled in Tannenburg, it was obviously not the main force defending the Russian 1st Army. Then, they can use the 2nd Army as a bait to make the 1st Army the main force of the attack. As long as the 1st Army can take Konigsberg, and then cooperate with the 2nd Army to attack the main force of the German army. Then, victory will still belong to Russia!