"Division commander, the Poles have dispatched tanks and heavy artillery this time, and it seems that they are really biting us to the death. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info Now that the enemy army is heavily gathered, I wonder if Moscow can provide a little support? "Chairman of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Republic, Myckyavičius Kapsukas, personally came to inquire about the situation.

"Chairman Kapusukas, now all *** elements and foreign invading armies are attacking the nascent Soviet power with their forces. The army of Yudenich, on the Baltic coast of the Western Front, broke through the Red Army lines in mid-May and pounced on Petrograd, an important core of the revolution. The commander of the bayonet division reluctantly comforted: "The superiors ordered us to hold on to Daugavpils, the difficulties are only temporary, we have tens of thousands of soldiers in the city, and we will definitely be able to repel the Polish invaders." ”

"Please, I'll take care of the logistics in the city, you don't have to worry."

"As long as we can work together, we will definitely be able to defeat the Poles." The bayonet division commander said firmly.

Standing in front of the map, the bayonet division commander felt the pressure on his body so heavy for the first time.

Rising to the position of division commander so quickly, he saw the commanders in front of him fall on the battlefield, and then he filled it very smoothly.

Every time on the battlefield, he relied on his good skills and a kind of natural inspiration to find the weak points of the enemy's army, break through, expand, pursue, and win. But this defensive battle did make him a little incomprehensible.

Constantly calculating the strength of the troops in his hands, a reorganized 1st Division of the International Volunteer Army, a Latvian Soviet Infantry Brigade with insufficient numbers, and two Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Infantry Regiments that had been withdrawn from the front line were reorganized into a reorganized division. There were about 30,000 people in total.

On the opposite side of the Polish army, the 1st Infantry Division and the 3rd Infantry Division appeared, and although the strength was equal, there was a large gap in the equipment of heavy weapons.

The commander of the bayonet division carefully studied the adjustment of the deployment of the army, put down the pen in his hand, and said: "Withdraw the infantry regiment and artillery regiment upstream for me." ”

"Commander Cronin, what should we do if the enemy crosses the river upstream?"

"Since the downstream has been lost, can we still guard the upstream?" Cronin said calmly.

"But then Daugavpils will be surrounded by enemy forces from both north and south directions, and with the river blocking the west, we will be very vulnerable to the enemy sealing the city."

"The enemy's 1st and 3rd main infantry divisions are here at the same time, and as long as we can delay for half a year, this battle will be won by us." Commander Cronin said resolutely: "As long as we contain the two main forces of the Poles, the Soviets will be able to easily defeat the rest of the Polish army on other battlefields."

And even if the enemy does not seal the city, we will not have much support for the time being, and Yudenich's attack has blocked the transportation route from Petersburg to here.

Now we have to defend the city to the death, and the enemy army surrounds us, so that the soldiers can give up the idea of fleeing and fight the enemy to the end. Cronin explained.

"Okay, that's a good plan."

"How long can we sustain food?" Cronin asked.

"A month." The quartermaster replied.

The surrounding officers were clamoring for a long time when only one month's food could not support a long-term holdout.

"Chairman Kapusukas, we need more food to keep the troops combat-ready." Cronin looked at him and said.

"Okay, I'll go back and collect food from all over the city at once. However, in this situation, there is not much food for every household. How much does the army need? Kapusucas said through gritted teeth.

"The army needs to collect food for another five months." Cronin said.

"That's just too much." Chairman Kapusucas was surprised and said, "You can't use so much food for six months!" ”

There will be deaths in the war, and if you hold out until six months later, I am afraid that at least half of the whole army will be killed and wounded, so it is almost enough to prepare four months' worth of food. Although Kapsukas studied Marxist theory, he clearly understood this truth in his heart.

"In that case, I'm afraid the residents will strongly oppose it." Kapusucas explained.

"In times of war, when the enemy is approaching the city, we must gather all our strength to defeat the enemy. Whoever resists the collection of grain is a sinner against the revolution, against the Soviets, against our resistance to the Polish invasion! Cronin said: "We will not spare the *** elements, and we must resolutely punish them." ”

"Alright, we'll get that done." Kapsukas glanced at the room, where most of the officers were ethnic Russians and Jews, and could only take on this unpopular job.

We also need the government to organize workers to help the army build barricades and dig trenches, I don't know if that's okay? Cronin asked

"Okay, no problem." Kapusucas agreed.

"Okay, the rest of the officers must stick to their positions, and without the orders of their superiors, they will abandon their positions and flee without permission, and you have all seen it, so I won't say anything more." Cronin said solemnly: "All for the Soviets!" Long live communism! ”

"Long live communism!" The other officers stood up and shouted.

On the morning of the 18th, Koval and the commanders of the regiments of the 1st Infantry Division gathered to discuss the offensive plan.

A trench was dug on top of a small dirt slope, covered with wood, and camouflaged with a thick layer of leaves on top. Several officers stood inside the trenches with binoculars and observed the defenses of Daugavpils.

"There are no pedestrians on the streets, and several intersections are all made of sandbags, and the city is really quiet and a little scary!" said Lieutenant Colonel Baginsky of the 5th Infantry Regiment.

"It's hard to see anything in this way, no matter what, you will know the state of the defense of the Soviet army in one battle!" Lieutenant Colonel Plutoka of the First Steps Corps said unconcernedly.

"Let's try it in the morning! Such a large city cannot be captured in a day or two. Lieutenant Colonel Engel of the 6th Infantry Regiment said.

Lieutenant Colonel Tadeush put down the binoculars in his hand and decided: "Let's try it once in the morning, and if we have the chance, we will attack it." If the enemy's defense is strong, we change the point of attack. In short, today is the first day of the siege, and our most important task is to find out the deployment of enemy forces in the city and familiarize ourselves with their defense patterns. Even without a breakthrough is fine, however, General Himigwe does not want to see serious casualties on the first day, which is important for morale effects. Okay, do you understand? ”

"Understood!"

"Go according to the plan!"

"Yes, sir." Three regiment commanders immediately left the former enemy command.