Chapter Twenty-Nine: Boosting Morale
Koval poured himself a full glass of wine, held it up and said, "Captain Andre, come and we'll do this last drink." Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info wait for us to lay down Vilnius, I invite everyone to drink for three days and three nights! ”
"Well, since my brother thinks of me, I will go with you. Go, go. Andrei said a little drunk.
Koval immediately went to the station to assemble his team. Some of the soldiers below were sleeping, some were washing clothes, all of them were tired, and they were very reluctant to gather in the courtyard.
Morale is not high, and it must be appeased, otherwise even if the army hits the road, it will still be sluggish, Koval thought to himself.
Koval waited for the soldiers to arrive, and shouted to them: "I know that everyone has been walking in the field for several days, and they are very tired, and they would like to have a good rest in Varenna, enjoy a good meal, take a bath in hot water, and have a good night's sleep." ”
The soldiers below laughed when they heard that Koval knew this.
Koval waited for a while, brewed the atmosphere, solemnly raised his right hand to stop the laughter, and shouted: "But, today we are leaving, now, we are leaving." There is no good food, only dry food; There is no hot water, only snow water; There is no stable sleep, only a pillow to wait for.
Am I going to fix you? I ate dry food with you, drank snow water together, slept with a gun together, and went to battle together.
Soldiers! In front of us is Vilnius, a city as great as Warsaw. It is now occupied by a handful of Bolsheviks, and if we set out at once and quicken our pace, we can reach the great city in four days, destroy the enemy inside, and take the great city.
In front of us, volunteers from all over the country have already gathered under the city of Vilnius, waiting for an attack.
Brave officers and soldiers! Great feats and great honors lie ahead, will you stay here and wait for the militia to take the city and laugh at us, or will you act immediately to take Vilnius? Koval raised his fist as he spoke, striking hard.
"Act now! Act now・・・・・・" The soldiers were agitated by Koval.
"Soldiers! Victory is ahead, get your bags ready and set off in five minutes. Koval ordered.
Koval watched as the soldiers quickly sorted out their luggage one by one, and under the arrangement of the officers, the teams set off happily.
In the same way, it is possible to make people submit to orders and make soldiers obey orders, but they may not have such efficiency and high morale. Koval stood on the side of the road and observed the state of the army, silently thinking, Sun Tzu drove the palace maid to train the army, the town is powerful, Wu Zi trained the Wei martial arts, and lured it to advantage, the key to training the army is among them.
Captain Andrei and his militia quickly caught up.
Koval saw that many of them had no guns, but only a spear or a long knife as a weapon.
"Captain Andre, how many of you are here? How many guns are there? Koval asked.
"We had two hundred and fifty men, a hundred Mosin Nagant rifles, and eighty other types of old shotguns, all with spears and broadswords. In this area around, we have the most Varenna guns. Andrei proudly introduced: "And we have twenty cavalry, and there is no one around who can compare." ”
As he spoke, a group of riders rode majestically past the procession, each with a long lance and a saber hanging from his saddle.
Forehead! Is this the Polish cavalry that defeated the Red Russia in the Battle of Warsaw in history? Koval looked dumbfounded. As a person who has experienced the tank assault of World War I and has seen too much of the history of tanks in World War II, he really has some doubts about the combat effectiveness of cavalry in this era.
When Koval arrived in the team, he also wanted to get a cavalry team to test it out and see how effective they were. But the horses in the army were concentrated in several cavalry divisions. As for the infantry battalion he was in, there were only a dozen horses in the whole battalion, which could only be used to pull carts, and could not be used as war horses at all.
Now seeing such a majestic cavalry in Andrei's team, Koval couldn't help but be a little moved.
"The cavalry is not easy! Amazingly, we only have a few old horses pulling carts in our whole camp. Koval said.
"Well, there are a few horses that the boys brought from home when they joined our volunteer army, and a few that were pulled from the pastures of several old Russian officers in Varenna, and they are all very strong and obedient horses." Andrei kept boasting about his cavalry.
Unaware of the smiling Koval next to him, he was calculating, thinking about how to dig up his precious cavalry team with men and horses.
"You don't have enough rifles, I repelled a small Red Russian army a few days ago, and captured a dozen Mosin Nagant rifles, all of which are new and good, but they don't match our Mauser rifle bullets, but they are just right for you. In the evening I will have the guns brought to you. Koval said, patting Andre on the shoulder.
"Really? How embarrassing is this! Camp Commander Koval is really generous, and if there is anything in the future, just tell the brothers. Andre's eyes narrowed with a smile. Getting a dozen Mosin Nagant rifles at once was a real surprise for his team.
"Alas, if you don't eat this sweetness, I'm embarrassed to turn your cavalry! I'm so kind. Koval thought as he looked at Andre and smiled.
Camp at night, because of the experience of the previous days, the officers and soldiers have arranged everything in order, and there is no need for Koval to worry too much. Therefore, he handed over this matter to the people below to arrange, which could not only reduce his own burden, but also cultivate the ability of the officers and increase their enthusiasm.
Captain Andrei's troops camped next to Koval's army. They didn't have Koval's straw mats, but they brought a bunch of various tents and put them on the ground, which was a little more comfortable than Koval's straw mat tents.
I think they were all brought from their own homes by these volunteers, and they looked untidy, but they were indeed more practical.
Koval arrived with Locke and the soldiers, carrying the box of Mosin Nagant rifles, and went to Andrey's camp together.
Andrei's soldiers were all gathering to roast the fire.
Andrei hurriedly walked over to greet him, led Koval sideways, and shouted at the same time: "Let the fire, give way to the brother brought by the battalion commander of Koval." ”
Koval secretly thought about his experience of meeting André in the past few days, and felt that he was not as rude and simple as he appeared: in fact, he should be a rather slippery person, and he welcomed him because he knew that his status as a volunteer army commander was very embarrassing, and he wanted to use his own strength.