After two enemy battalions were annihilated, Kuster ordered his troops to launch a counter-charge.

He did not intend to bombard the defenses with artillery fire, because this would alarm the Russians, and their shells were not very adequate.

So Kuster ordered 1 elite company to cross the river, try to infiltrate the Russian positions, and dismantle the barbed wire fence in front of the formation to ensure the safety of the entire crossing.

The operation soon began, and the soldiers of the two companies quickly laid out the tools for crossing the river in the night. Before leaving, their commander looked back at Kuster.

"Good luck to you." With Kuster's salute, the company faded into darkness.

After no more light flashed on the black-red river, Kuster rolled up his sleeves and glanced at his watch.

It was 11 p.m., and it was expected that it would take five minutes for the four battalions to come over, and at least 20 minutes for them to cross the river.

Kuster hoped to form an east-west flank with Gerstoli against the remaining two battalions of the R2 Division by 1 a.m. After the R2 Division is completely wiped out, they will concentrate the strength of 7 battalions, maneuver to the flank of R1, and continue to go deeper, waiting for opportunities to isolate various Russian troops, and try to find and destroy the command system of the Russian army.

As soon as the guns rang out, the three battalions on the east side would hold the enemy on the right flank to the death, and they would use the river to fight the corpses and the enemy, but it was estimated that they could only hold out for more than ten hours.

Therefore, Kuster must finish the blow to the enemy on the left flank by September 9.

Finishing his thoughts, Kuster said to the wheat field beside him:

"When the four battalions get here, don't let them stop, but immediately make a full crossing. They don't have to worry about the Russian army, as you just saw, I have already deployed a company on the other side. ”

"However, it was already late at night, and there had been no large-scale exchanges of fire on the battlefield except for sporadic gunfire. All divisions on the battlefield are in repair, and if we attack brazenly, we will not have any friendly troops to come to our aid.

And it would not be good to alarm the Russians - you know, we have just routed 2 battalions, and the remaining deserters must be wary. ”

Kuster, not liking to hear such words, grabbed Wheat Field by the collar, and said angrily and madly:

"You must know that on the entire battlefield, the most promising breakthrough is our division! So we don't need the help of our allies at all, but we help our allies.

The best time to break through is now! The two battalions of the Russians on the opposite bank were routed, which meant that no Russian army could stop us in our 3-kilometer-wide front to the north! ”

The wheat field was a little dazed by Kuster's yelling, but fortunately the four battalions had arrived, and Kuster stopped bothering him, and turned around and ordered them to cross the river at once. Although some of them were not satisfied, they had to hold back.

It was 12 o'clock in the evening, and Kuster's four battalions had gradually divided the R2 division.

Kuster sent another telegram to Gerstoli, asking him to send a battalion to accompany them in order to form an encirclement.

But he told Kuster that the Russians to the west had attacked the bridgehead so violently that almost all of his troops had been thrown into the battlefield. Therefore, he could only put his only reserve company to the east to cooperate with Kuster.

Kuster did not hesitate, and after throwing 200 shells into the Russian positions, he quickly launched a charge.

However, in 20 minutes, the Russian positions were completely washed away, and the R2 Division (24 Infantry Division) was completely annihilated.

Kuster again ordered his slightly damaged 4 battalions to penetrate deep into the rear of the R1 Division, to try to find the headquarters and artillery positions of the R1 Division, and to try to coordinate with the A1 Division to form an encirclement.

At the same time, the artillery was ordered to carry out a saturation artillery bombardment of the R3 Division to the east for up to 10 minutes to support the attack of the army on the right and to seize a better position to defend against the Russians.

Under surprise attacks and artillery fire, a battalion of the R3 Division collapsed, and the fortifications there were overtaken by a battalion deployed by Kuster to the east.

At present, one battalion of Kuster in the east is defending on the north bank, while the other two battalions are on the south bank to support the flanks and serve as reserves. They assured Kuster that they would not take a single step forward, but would hold their ground firmly.

To the west, all 7 of Kuster's battalions marched to the flank of the R1 Division. And four more battalions continued to penetrate into its interior, concentrating their forces to eliminate their various reserve battalions.

It wasn't until 2 a.m. that the rest of the forces learned of such a breakthrough as Custer. All the division commanders woke up from their slumber and quickly dispatched their troops, and the situation on the battlefield changed as a result.

The headquarters of the R2 Division immediately withdrew from the battlefield. The R1 Division quickly drew back a few battalions from the shore and immediately began to build a defensive line. The R3 Division launched an onslaught on the three battalions of Kuster to the east, but with the resistance of the soldiers and the aid of artillery fire, it had little success. R4 transferred 2 battalions to support the R3 Division, and the rest of the troops waited until dawn to cross the river to attack.

The A1 Division carpet bombarded the north bank with artillery to slow down the retreat of the Russian troops on the other side, and at the same time maneuvered the two battalions that had been promised to Kuster through friendly bridges. The A3 Division did not make any moves, and remained in a standoff with the R4 Division.

At 3 a.m., the Russian army still had 5 battalions to defend against the Kuster attack in the east, 4 battalions to defend against the attack in the south, and the rest of the battalions were annihilated.

The Russian army has the advantage in the east, with more than 25 battalions, enough to tear down any line of defense.

In contrast, the Austrians had 16 battalions in the west that could launch a joint attack, while the east had less than 13 battalions due to battle losses.

As the pace of the Austrian offensive in the west became slower, Kuster became more and more anxious.

If they can't end the fighting here quickly, then their situation in the east will get even worse. And at the moment, the only way to quickly eliminate the Russian army is to destroy their command system.

The Russian standing army, although strong in individual combat, was nothing more than a group of reckless men. They only understand the thrill of hand-to-hand combat, but they cannot understand the subtlety of firearms.

This conclusion applies equally well to command tactics, as long as their leaders are killed, they are scattered and difficult to concentrate.

Therefore, Kuster immediately ordered two planes to take off and search for the Russian division headquarters within a radius of 10 kilometers.

Even though it was still drowsy, Kuster pinned his last hope on these two planes. As soon as they found the command of the Russian army, Kuster would rush over with a few cavalry companies around him.

After seeing off the two planes, Kuster sat restlessly in the middle of the command, and his seconds were like years.

At 4 a.m., a faint roar in the distant sky was heard, and Kuster immediately ran out to watch the wrecked biplane slowly approach.

Dragged by a group of infantrymen, the plane successfully landed on the grass, and the pilot jumped out of the cockpit and said to Kuster with a bloody face:

"My general! The Russians have their headquarters 6 kilometers northwest of us, and they probably have less than 1 company of troops. ”

"Very well, you can go and rest."

Kuster said kindly to the pilot, and then shouted behind him:

"My children! Hurry up and get on your horse and follow me to hunt the Russians! ”