Tirpitz was content with his victory in the conference room, and although it seemed that the final execution of the attack on the North Sea blockade would depend on whether the British would dispatch battlecruisers, Tirpitz knew that the outcome was already predestined.

As long as he submitted the battle plan to His Majesty the Emperor, it would be useless for Herzendorf, Pol, and Müller to attach a report of dissenting opinions, because sending the battle plan to the Charlottenburg Palace in the absence of a consensus within the General Staff of the Navy would be tantamount to handing over the power of decision to His Majesty the Emperor.

And Tirpitz, who was well acquainted with His Majesty's naval strategy, was convinced that His Majesty would certainly not oppose his battle plan.

However, Tirpitz did not want to use this method to resolve the differences of opinion within the General Staff, because it would undermine the authority of the General Staff of the Navy over the command of the fleet. However, if the Herzendorf trio are "stubborn", Tirpitz doesn't care about doing something "bullying and flattering".

In fact, this kind of "flattery" has historically cost Tirpitz, who was not the commander-in-chief of the Navy as Secretary of State in the Naval Office, and his main responsibilities were administrative, not military. Tirpitz, who was the Imperial Field Marshal, was at best a consultant with significant influence in the development of naval battle plans.

Therefore, in order to eliminate dissent within the navy, suppress dissidents who oppose his strategic idea of decisive battle with capital ships, and promote his own Grand Fleet plan with capital ships as the core, Tirpitz must rely on the support of the imperial power from Wilhelm II.

In order to achieve this goal, Tirpitz had been helping Wilhelm II to seize control of the navy, gradually weakening the command of the naval center over the fleet through a series of institutional adjustments, making it an advisory organ to the emperor, ostensibly delegated operational command to the fleet, but in fact concentrated in the hands of the emperor.

However, this behavior gave Tirpitz a bitter taste after the outbreak of the war, believing that the presence of the fleet could affect the diplomatic situation and thus change the attitude of the neutral countries, and because of the smooth progress of the army on the Western Front and the defeat in the naval battle of the Gulf of Helgoland, Wilhelm II decided to save the fleet and change the situation through land victory and naval deterrence.

Under these circumstances, Tirpitz's envisaged strategy of withdrawing from the war could not be realized by demonstrating the value of the fleet through a decisive battle of the fleet, so that the British would realize the risk of damage to their own fleet. Because the entire General Staff of the Navy has actually become a sounding board for Wilhelm II to give orders to the fleet, rather than a decision-making body of the Navy.

And the Kaiser's authority is also infiltrating the fleet step by step, whether it is Ingnoll or Scheer, both of them have a decisive and courageous character evaluation in history, and Scheer can be called brave and fierce even before he became the commander of the Ocean Fleet. However, both commanders of the Ocean Fleet made conservative decisions in the course of the war, and it is difficult to say whether it was due to the influence of Wilhelm II.

Now, as Chief of the Naval General Staff, Tirpitz is of course no longer just a consultant to naval strategy, he is the most powerful formulator in the decision-making of naval strategy and campaigns, and if there is an agreement within the Naval General Staff, then Tirpitz can make decisions on the implementation of the plan for naval strategic campaigns on his own, without the intervention of the imperial power.

However, Tirpitz, who has cooperated with Jochen for more than ten years and has rarely encountered resistance with the support of His Majesty the Emperor, has no obstacle to borrowing the emperor's authority to do something "bullying and flattering", but is complacent about it.

Of course, at this time, Jochen did not know that his chief of naval staff was planning to use his authority to bully people, and the course of the war on the Eastern Front was the focus of his attention.

Fifty kilometers northeast of Lodz, on the south bank of the Vistula, the reconnaissance battalion of the 1st Panzer Cavalry Division of the 1st Army of the German Imperial Army advanced rapidly on Polish soil.

Although it is a cavalry division in name, the 1st Armored Cavalry Division has completely replaced war horses with vehicles, but this does not mean that the officers and men of the 1st Armored Cavalry Division feel that riding in a car is more comfortable than riding a horse.

At least that's what Captain Eberhard von Mackensen, who was standing in the machine gun tower of Cavalry No. 1 at this time, holding the top control tower with his hands to prevent his body from shaking like a pendulum.

The No. 1 cavalry combat vehicle was a companion product of the mechanized troops proposed by the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Colonel-General Goltz, in 1909.

The chassis was basically the same as that of the No. 2 assault gun, but the 75 mm field gun was removed, the hull was turned forward and backward, the gearbox was moved to the rear of the engine, and the driver's seat was raised and placed above the rear of the gearbox, which became the layout of the engine front, and the intake, exhaust and heat dissipation shutters that were originally located on the front of the engine were moved to the side, and then armor was installed above and on the front of the hull to protect the engine.

As a result of the removal of the gearbox and the removal of the field gun, the space inside the vehicle suddenly became spacious, the loader and radio operator became the machine gunner and radio operator, the position was moved to the right of the driver, the MG4 light machine gun on the spherical machine gun firing port on the frontal armor of the hull was operated, the commander's seat, which did not need to be a part-time gun commander, was moved from the rear of the driver to the middle of the fighting compartment, and the raised seat allowed the commander to directly operate the single machine gun turret with one MG5 heavy machine gun mounted on the roof.

The extended fixed fighting compartment covers the entire rear of the hull and becomes a crew compartment for infantry, with six seats mounted on the back side of the bulkhead, and a hatch that opens down at the rear to allow the infantry to quickly disembark.

While the 20 mm armor on the front of the hull could barely hold off a 12.7 mm armor-piercing shell, the 10 mm armor on the sides could be penetrated by the Germans' own 7.62 steel-core armor-piercing shells, with only one 12.7 mm and one 7.62 mm machine gun. However, the weight of the whole vehicle was reduced to 11 tons, which made it travel faster than the No. 2 assault gun, which met the army's requirements for mobility. More importantly, the use of on-board communication equipment has enabled the 1st Armored Cavalry Division to leapfrog the level of radio penetration from the battalion level of the infantry division to the squad level, which is a leap in combat effectiveness for the army.

Originally, His Excellency the Chief of the General Staff wanted to equip this armored transport vehicle according to the establishment of an infantry division, but since it could only carry 6 infantrymen, if it was established according to an infantry division, then a division would need to be equipped with at least more than 700 vehicles.

Therefore, the General Staff of the Army finally decided to equip it according to the establishment of the cavalry division, after all, this is a combat vehicle and not just a simple means of transport, and the cavalry's war horses should also be counted in the combat effectiveness, right? Therefore, the reorganized and reorganized 1st Armored Cavalry Division was equipped with nearly 400 vehicles, and this vehicle was naturally named cavalry fighting vehicles.

Although the appearance of the No. 1 cavalry chariot allowed the soldiers of the 1st Armored Cavalry Division to have the mobility of the cavalry after leaving the horses, it did not mean that these new era "cavalrymen" liked their new partners.

Without the majestic high war horses, without the sharp cavalry knives, without the gorgeous and riotous military uniform decorations, without the dashing posture of galloping horses, they can only squeeze into the shaky, crowded and stuffy crew cabin, listening to the roar of the irritating engine separated by a wall, what kind of cavalry is the cavalry sitting on the seat with a hard man's butt hurting?

Pushing through Polish soil at 14 km/h magnifies the terrible ride experience, and a captain like Kensen Jr. would rather bare his upper body outside and eat dirt than put his butt on a hard chair, but the commander can still stand up and let his butt relax, and the driver, radio operator, and the infantry in the crew compartment behind are now all in the car and can only complain about their butts.

But whining is complaining, and the speed of the troops' march cannot be slowed down. Pony Kenson Jr. was well aware of the heavy responsibilities that the 1st Armored Cavalry Division was shouldering at this time.

Łódź is only a short 137 kilometers from Warsaw, and as a transportation hub for the entire Polish region, the railway network radiating from Warsaw as the center gives the Russians a considerable amount of room for the 9th Army in Warsaw to react.

The 1st Panzer Cavalry Division had to race against time to seize Worwicz east of Kutno before the Russians, and although the two railway lines from Warsaw to Künot and Lodz were spread out in a radial pattern, the distance between Wovich on the Warsaw-Kutno route and Skernevice on the Warsaw-Lodz route was only about 20 kilometers due to the railway route planning. The seizure of Vovich and Skernevilice was placed directly within range of German artillery fire, so that both railway lines could be cut off at the same time, thus ensuring that the follow-up units of the 1st Army had enough time to deploy on the Kunaut-Lodz line and consolidate the defenses.

The plan was good, theoretically with the advance speed of the 1st Panzer Cavalry Division, 2 days would be enough time to build fortifications in Wovich and wait for the Russians to come to the door.

However, this was theoretically possible with good road support, and in practice the poor road construction of the Poles in areas outside the railway line meant that the 1st Panzer Cavalry Division had to give way to artillery and logistics trucks, and the 4th Cavalry Division following them, and the tracked vehicles still had to trek through muddy ground.

The 1st Armored Cavalry Division could only maintain a speed of about 60 kilometers in a straight line every day, and it took 2 days to reach Plock on the north bank of the Vistula River, and to make matters worse, the Poles' bridges did not support a large number of heavy equipment to cross the river quickly, even though the 1st Armored Cavalry Division erected pontoon bridges to improve the efficiency of the passage of troops, it was still delayed in Plockk for a full day.

Even if the 1st Armored Cavalry Division and the 4th Cavalry Division, which were moving with them, were already the southernmost units of the 1st Army, this still felt like they weren't fast enough.

Today is already the fourth day, no matter how slow the reaction is, if the four days have passed and the Germans have not been able to detect the whole line of attack and successfully attack Poland, then the Russian 9th Army is estimated to be selectively blind and ready to surrender.

So even if the engine was noisy and the roads were in bad condition, the 1st Panzer Cavalry Division could not slow down and had to capture Wovich before sunset.

However, the worst case scenario is unsurprising.

"2 companies called for support, 2 companies called for support, and the Russian cavalry was spotted at 10 o'clock in the direction of the advance! Direction of Progress: 10 o'clock azimuth spot Russian cavalry! ”

"Damn, it's almost 2,000 rides!"

2000 rides?!

This is 1 cavalry brigade!

The 2nd Company was at the very front of the reconnaissance battalion advancing in a diamond formation, that is, less than 8 km to the left of the 3rd Company commanded by John Jr. Kensen, and at this time it was less than 20 km from Wovich!

The appearance of 2 Russian cavalry regiments 20 kilometers north of Wovich means that the cavalry units of the Russian 9th Army are moving along the railway line, and at least one cavalry division is now around Wovich, and even worse is that the first troops of the Russian army to set off by rail may be about to or even have arrived in Wovich, then the 1st Panzer Division, which must be attacked, is likely to not be able to take Wovich today!

"Shit!" Pony Kenson spat and shouted! "Change the formation! All-in-one acceleration! Then raise your left hand down and your right hand up in a diagonal line.

Cavalry Chariot No. 1 emitted a cloud of thick black smoke, which was a sign that the diesel engine suddenly increased the output of fuel and did not burn sufficiently, and the 19 steel beasts rushed forward with an even louder roar.

In the process of acceleration, the 19 combat vehicles completed the transformation from the right slash formation that originally guarded the right flank to the left slash formation that concentrated on the left flank.

Although the road was not smooth and muddy, it was much better than driving in a potholed combat zone in front of the trenches, so in addition to making the members of the car suffer more, the troops' advance speed was increased by a fraction!

By the time the little Mackenson arrived, the 2nd Company had already engaged the Russians, but the situation was a little dumbfounded, with a mere 19 cavalry chariots facing nearly 2,000 cavalry, it seemed that the situation was overwhelmingly unfavorable to the Germans, but the Russians clearly lacked the means to deal with these roaring iron guys.

However, this does not mean that the Russians chose to retreat, unlike the suspicious infantry who were hit by the No. 2 assault artillery on the front line, the brave cavalry of the 17th Cavalry Division of the Russian 9th Army believed that they could still deal with these 19 "armored vehicles" by virtue of their absolute numerical superiority.

In fact, it is true that the cavalry brigade of Tsarist Russia is equipped with a carriage equipped with a Makqin machine gun, which is a machine gun carriage towed by 3-4 war horses to ensure that the cavalry units of Tsarist Russia can also have strong machine gun fire support, in the eyes of the Russian cavalry, the thin steel plate on the armored car can not block the shooting of the Makqin machine gun.

Of course, the Russians are not stupid, and the story of the cavalry charging head-on the tank will only appear in the propaganda of **. After discovering that the Mosin Nagant dragoon rifles in their hands were no match for these armored cars, while the opposite side had nearly 40 machine guns that swept away a large part of them in a single shot, the Russians also knew that there was little chance of a head-on confrontation.

Therefore, while a part of the cavalry scattered in front of the Germans, trying to induce the Germans to disperse the pursuit, more cavalry began to try to outflank the German convoy from both sides.

The Russians were on the right track, the No. 1 cavalry chariot was not the No. 2 assault gun, and the flanks were indeed unable to defend themselves against the intensive fire of the Maxim machine guns. If the Russians can successfully go around the rear of the 2nd Company, then it is really possible for the Russians to achieve the great feat of cavalry winning the armor in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately, German reinforcements arrived.

"Stay in formation! Free Fire! Pony Kenson excitedly gave an order to the radio, then raised his right hand high, and then slashed forward!

Seeing the 18 commanders retract into the car almost at the same time, Kenson Jr. sat back in his seat, closed the hatch with his hand, and then grasped the grip of the MG5 machine gun.

"Fire!"

Although there was no need to shout like this after the order to "free fire" was given, Pony Kenson couldn't help but shout excitedly.

The heavy, more powerful, and more breathtaking thud of the MG5 heavy machine gun fired.

If the 7.62mm synchronous machine gun on the front of the hull of the No. 1 infantry fighting vehicle is not a nightmare, then the MG5 in the machine gun tower on the roof is a scythe of hell.

No flesh could withstand the 12.7mm large-caliber machine gun rounds, and wherever the MG5's muzzle crossed, no matter how human or horse, it was all torn to pieces.

The Russian cavalry who tried to flank the Germans were flanked by the Germans, and the Russian cavalry ranks that were on their backs were broken up in an instant, and the chaos of fleeing further aggravated the tragic end of the Russians.

Probably due to the adrenaline rush caused by the battle, some German drivers increased their speed, intentionally or unintentionally, and the entire convoy was further increased in order to maintain their formation.

In the chaos, the crowded and colliding Russian cavalry fell to the ground, and then the German chariot rushing at a speed of more than 20 kilometers per hour slammed into it, 20 kilometers per hour was not fast, but 10 tons of steel ran over the horses and cavalry, and the scene was even more tragic than the infantry being knocked away by the cavalry running at high speed. The crunch of bones crushed by the tracks is compounded by the creaking noise of the tracks.

The Russian cavalry collapsed, and the real scattered fled. However, they could not escape anywhere, and in the other direction, the 1st company from the left flank of the reconnaissance battalion also arrived, and in the rear, 8 No. 2 assault guns from 2 assault gun platoons in the artillery company directly under the battalion were also on their way.

As a result, the situation changed from being surrounded by 2 companies to blossoming in the center! 57 cavalry chariots and 8 assault guns carried out a massacre against the Russians, and in just one hour, the land on the south bank of the Vistula River was stained red with the blood of Russian cavalry.

A brigade of Russian cavalry, except for a few cavalry who escaped, the rest were completely torn apart by machine guns and field artillery. In addition to the roar of the engine, the only thing left for the terrible neighing of the seriously wounded and undead horses falling to the ground was the Germans' tracks.

Leaning out and looking at the battlefield in front of him, Pony Kenson sighed with some pity: "It is estimated that we will be scolded by the people of the 4th Cavalry Division for destroying the heavens." ”

The troops had to continue south, and the task of cleaning up the battlefield could only be left to the 4th Cavalry Division behind. Born into a family with a cavalry tradition and a former cavalry officer himself, Kenson knew how precious the fallen Donhippos on the battlefield were in the eyes of the cavalry, and he also knew that the 4th Cavalry Division would never say anything nice about his armored cavalry after seeing this slaughterhouse-like battlefield.

But maybe this is the progress of the times, and the cavalry who come and go like the wind can only do the work of cleaning the battlefield for themselves.

Pony Kenson sighed again, cleared the distractions from his mind, raised his right hand, stretched out his index finger, and then drew a few circles in the sky, and then gave the order to the radio: "Regroup, move on!" There's still a battle ahead! ”