Zhang Tianyi's armored forces can be described as heavy losses, but this loss is definitely worth it. More than half of the large-caliber artillery of the 1st and 4th Russian Siberian armies had been lost, and with the loss of other artillery, half of the barreled artillery of these two armies had already been destroyed or captured. As a group army, the artillery strength is in small numbers, and they have existed in name only. As a direct result, in the next day's artillery battle, the Russian forces used to close the gap found that they had lost their fire support. The infantry of the four regiments invested on the first day all fell into the quagmire, and the infantry of the two regiments invested on the second day were beaten by long-range artillery of various calibers before they could be deployed. On the opposite side, two more regiments of the Chinese army were added, and it was impossible to plug the gap.

Under the leadership of the 1st Armored Brigade, the 4 regiments of the Chinese Army had held the gap to the death, and the heavy artillery units followed with the troops. AND AFTER LOSING THE ABILITY TO FIGHT WITH ARTILLERY, THE REMAINING DEFENSIVE LINE BECAME QUITE VULNERABLE UNDER THE BLOWS OF 152MM HEAVY ARTILLERY, AND IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE IT WAS LOST. To this end, the Russians have committed more than 10 regiments (including artillery and direct logistics units) in this battle. This was undoubtedly a huge loss for the 1st and 4th Siberian armies, which had only 42,000 men.

"We used all the mobile forces we could put in to close the gap at the first opportunity, and we already anticipated the offensive that the adversary might be going to launch. We abandoned the first line of defense to reduce the effectiveness of the enemy's artillery, and we painstakingly managed the second line of defense, leaving enough reserves. And we have also invested valuable military artillery units. But we still could not effectively contain their advance, after the destruction of the position. Their chariot units ran rampant and launched a counter-charge against our troops, resulting in huge losses to the infantry regiments. The rhythm of the attack was completely disrupted. And over time. The enemy has regained support, our army no longer has any advantage in the breakthrough, and there is no hope of closing the gap. Just after learning that another heavy artillery unit he had worked so hard to save had been destroyed, the commander of the Fourth Army of the Russian Army, Zalubayev, wrote in a letter to Kurpatkin.

In fact, Zarubaev got the news in the afternoon of the second day after the start of the battle, exactly 10 hours after the annihilation of this force! And ten hours is enough time to make a huge change on the battlefield! Considering the time for Kulopatkin to receive information and make troop adjustments, this delay will be extended to about 2 days. Just when Kulopatkin was ready to find a way to close this loophole. The balance of war has rapidly tipped in favor of China.

One of the most tragic things on the battlefield is when the opponent is still capable of attacking. The other side has no reserves left. The biggest problem on the defending side is that a significant portion of the forces are used to control the defensive line. The mobile force is more limited, and the defensive force is not if the opponent does not attack this point. Then the troops who remain here can only squat in the trenches. After the mobile forces were exhausted, the situation on the defending side had become a dead game. Unless there were new reinforcements, the 1st and 4th Siberian Armies would be completely divided, and the 4th Siberian Army, which was at the outermost end of the line, would be surrounded and annihilated.

Kulopatkin had already discovered this fatal problem in the first place. But just because you find it doesn't mean you can solve it. Zarubaev has nothing to do to close the gap. However, Kulopatkin's forces were also very limited, and the troops defending the fortress did not dare to use them easily, and the Siberian Second and Third Armies, which were located on the right flank, could not catch up at all. Thinking about it, Kulopatkin could only mobilize the cavalry units as the general reserve of the campaign. I don't expect these cavalry to storm the defense line of the Chinese army head-on, that is, to use it as cavalry infantry. The Kampf battle group is a mobile battle group, which not only has up to 50 companies of cavalry, but also has a small number of armored vehicle units of the Russian army.

But for this strong and quickly mobile force, Kulopatkin did not directly throw all of them into battle, and it was impossible for him not to have reserves in his hands. Although in the hands of Mishinko there were another 20 companies of cavalry and about two battalions of armored vehicles, but this was assigned to the fortified area and the right flank. He did not dare to ask for transfer. After hesitating for a long time, Kulopatkin gritted his teeth and mobilized 30 cavalry companies and 1 regiment of armored vehicles from the Kampev group to support the left flank.

But by the time the order was given and the troops were assembled, two days had passed. And what happened to the situation on the battlefield in two days? On the morning of the next day, the infantry battalion, which had been surrounded in the core position, had been destroyed by the concrete armor-piercing shells and heavy artillery shells fired by the oversized caliber mortars. The four infantry regiments that were flanked from both sides were divided by the two infantry regiments of the Chinese Army, which were reinforced later, together with the breakthrough troops. As for the Russian reinforcements of the latter two regiments, they were also forced to abandon the offensive after paying a certain price and accepted the reality, but what happened next still caught the Russians a little unexpected.

After completing the division of the First and Fourth Siberian Armies, Peng Yi's group began an all-out offensive, with the support of heavy artillery and two other armored brigades as the lead, launching a full-scale attack on the positions of the Siberian First and Fourth Armies, respectively, and behind them were two main divisions with a total strength of no less than 15,000 men. After the armored brigade knocked a gap, they would completely crush the two main Russian field corps of the 1st and 4th Siberian armies like a grinding plate. After losing heavy artillery support and mobile troops, the Russian troops trapped in the beast positions did not have a good way to deal with the offensive like a tide, and their result could only be delayed for a while, and if nothing else, they would be broken by each one.

Faced with this situation, the Kampf battle group suddenly changed its tactics, they gave up the rescue of the Fourth Army, and instead concentrated their forces and began to threaten the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Division of the Peng Yi Group Army, which was attacking the 1st Army, and an armored battalion assigned to it from the flank. As the supreme commander of this mobile unit, Kampf had already realized that the battle had entered a state of erosion, and Kulopatkin did not dare to put all his mobile forces into it, because in his opinion, such rescue could not achieve the combat mission of driving out the opponent and regaining the initiative on the battlefield. For him to take 30 cavalry companies and an armored regiment to attack two and a half armored brigades and nearly 3 divisions with a total of nearly 60,000 troops, plus the attached heavy artillery, is tantamount to death.

"We lack enough infantry to consolidate our positions, we lack enough armored units to break through the opponent's defenses, so we can't disrupt the opponent's deployment with a surprise attack, and even if we disrupt the opponent's rhythm, we will be surrounded by the attrition of the enemy forces around us. As for the remaining infantry regiments of the 1st and 4th Siberian armies, they lacked mobility and lacked heavy weapons. (Heavy weapons are concentrated in units above the regimental level for centralized use.) So they simply can't be expected to break away from their positions and attack on their own initiative. So, after some thought, I decided to cover the withdrawal of the First Siberian Army from its positions first, and then try to relieve the rest of the front-line troops as much as possible. After much deliberation, Kampf said this in a telegram to Kulopatkin.

This telegram had in fact pronounced the death sentence of the Fourth Siberian Army. The connection of the Siberian Fourth Army with the First Army had been severed. And it is being attacked by more than 20,000 Chinese troops. The time of their existence when the mobile forces and artillery are depleted can already be calculated in hours. As for how much the First Army can escape, it all depends on Kampf's action to break the siege. Shortly after the telegram was sent to Kulopatkin, Kampf began to work on his own plan before he could reply.

Kampf still has a relatively clear understanding of the situation, his own troops have nothing to praise except for the superiority of mobility, allowing the cavalry to charge the opponent's positions with machine guns and mortars? Kampf didn't think that carbine and saber could be compared to these monsters that fired more than 800 rounds per minute. Therefore, Kampf pinned all his hopes on the successful cut of the armored forces, and the subsequent cavalry could quickly disrupt the opponent's deployment and withdraw before the opponent reacted.

After seven or eight telegram exchanges, Kulopatkin finally accepted Kampf's plan. Now judging from the situation, this time the Russian army must have lost money. The problem now is that of losing more and losing less. What Kampf did was tantamount to losing an army to the Chinese Army, but he could have a greater certainty of rescuing the First Army, and after several trade-offs, he still accepted Kampf's plan, of course, he absolutely could not say on the telegram that Kampf would only save the First Army and abandon the Fourth Army. Instead, Kampf is advised to rescue as many friendly troops as possible. As for what it means to be as much as possible? It's up to the individual to understand it.

So, after getting Kulopatkin's consent, the Kampf battle group, which had been delayed for three days, officially launched an attack. However, at this time, there was a new change that the Russians did not expect, that is, the Chinese Army had penetrated the positions of the First and Fourth Armies of Siberia in two days, among which the Third Division of the Chinese Marine Army, which had penetrated the positions of the First Army, and the Second Armored Brigade that had opened the way for it had turned, and the front of the troops began to push the remaining positions of the Russian First Army on the first line. The two Russian regiments on the left flank and one regiment that arrived later to participate in the sealing of the gap have been completely surrounded by the Chinese Army that broke through from the middle road.

In other words, at this time, even if Kampf rescues the Russian infantry regiment that previously blocked the gap, it has become a failure. And when the Chinese army turned around, when he attacked again, he did not sneak attack from the flank, but attacked in the direction of the opponent's attack! This is something he didn't expect!

Today's first day of the recommended period, I hope you will support a lot~~. Thank you all here~~~. (To be continued......)