Both Rudolph and Sergey had a delicate mood. They are afraid of each other's strength, but they are full of confidence and think that they are at an advantage.

By three o'clock in the afternoon, Rudolph had advanced seven kilometers near Lemberg, and along the way his troops had annihilated only two companies of the enemy. The Russian forces on the outskirts of the city had retreated, and Rudolph easily regained the towns and villages, and it was clear that a large number of refugees had gathered near Lemberg. The western Ukrainians and Jews on these borders fled westward with their families to avoid being raided by the Russian army, because without the speed of the evacuation of the Austro-Hungarian army, the refugees had to go to the nearest city in order to survive the winter, where there was still order and a little help.

The refugees fled with all their food and belongings. Although the Russian army has collected most of it, they at least have food rations to barely feed on.

Rudolph's self-confidence stems from the strength of his troops, but he also fears heavy losses in the city. Rudolph believed that after he captured the city, he must have waited for Russian reinforcements first. Rudolph repeatedly confirmed to the command that Russian troops, in addition to supporting the front line, were also moving to Lemberg. At the same time, the command promised him that the 12th Army would arrive in Lemberg in four days, and the Russian troops on the front line were retreating, and directly behind them was Shamna, where the 36th Regiment was holding back the Russians.

Sergei thought that Rudolph would be annihilated by his own side, but he was afraid that Rudolf would be desperate to capture Lemberg, which was the hub and warehouse of the Russian army, and once it fell or was attacked, it would be difficult to guarantee the supply and retreat of the two armies on the front line. The army group did not ask him to take the initiative to attack, he just had to hold Lemberg and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

Rudolph reported to the command about the emptiness of the Russian defense, and the chief of staff approved his plan to capture Lemberg. Rudolph threw the 50th Regiment into the attack, and with no artillery ready and no chariots to open the way, these soldiers made their debut in the campaign.

The Russian army is also not fully prepared, they have just built improvised temporary positions, and this patchwork Russian army does not have strong firepower. In fact, because of insufficient production capacity, the artillery of the Russian army on the front line can only be divided into a dozen shells each. Lemberg was a transit center for Russian supplies, and the defenders here were outnumbered, but at least they didn't have to worry about ammunition.

Stratagem and strategy have lost their meaning in such battles, and the battlefield is entirely determined by the officers and men who are fighting. The Russian army is not as vulnerable as it thinks, although they are poorly trained and outdated in equipment, the Russian soldiers are simple-minded, and under the organization of the officers, they will resolutely obey orders.

The 50 regiment relied on the superiority of equipment to capture positions from place to place, and in addition to the invincible submachine guns and pistols in close combat, grenades were also an advantage. In fact, the Russians began to use long-handled grenades as early as 1905, and Russia was at the forefront in this regard. Before the war, they designed a long-handled grenade, the body of which was a bulky square iron box, which did not have much practical value. After the outbreak of the war, Russia designed another M1914 grenade. It's an avant-garde design, made of all-metal, and the body and grip are welded to metal, so it weighs only 580 grams. The fly in the ointment is that the use method is cumbersome, and it is necessary to remove the safety latch on the bullet body and press down the pressure plate.

The Austro-Hungarian grenade was also finalized in the military reform, and the design copied the classic M24 grenade, but in order to reduce costs, there were no high-end accessories such as springs, ceramic pull rings, and no M18 fuses for up to 6 seconds. When this classic product was introduced, the Germans immediately abandoned their various spherical bombs and began to produce them in full force, so much so that German goods appeared in the hands of Allied soldiers.

The Russians fought very tenaciously, not only passively defending, but also taking the initiative to counterattack when the Austrians had just captured their positions and had an unstable foothold.

Lieutenant Junger was a commando captain in the 50 battalion of the 3 regiment, he was only 24 years old at the outbreak of the war, having just graduated from a military school. He was still a platoon commander in the Battle of Galicia, and his memory of the war was only to retreat all the way, constantly exchanging fire with the Russian army for a short time.

His team was thrown into battle at 4:20. After an hour of fighting, the 50 regiment advanced less than a kilometer. The resistance of the Russians became more and more intense, and the fire of the opposing positions increased.

Jung was ordered to capture the trench opposite, where there was only one platoon and a machine-gun pillbox.

Mortars fired a dozen shells at the opposite side, and the offensive began. Under the suppression of artillery fire, Jung quickly charged forward with more than fifty of his men. With about 200 meters left in the enemy's position, the artillery fire stopped abruptly, and the battalion headquarters provided only forty shells for the attack. Jung didn't have time to complain, and the Russians raised their rifles and fired at them. He and his non-commissioned officers immediately beckoned the soldiers to lie down.

The machine gunner lay on the ground and opened fire on the pillbox. The Russian machine gun spotted the target, and when it saw that it was swept up in a cloud of smoke, the machine gunner and the bombardier fell in response. No one returned fire at the Russians, and the machine guns in the pillboxes stopped. Junger instructed the sergeant major beside him to lead people to blow up the bunker.

With one shout after another, the assault team got up from the ground and rushed head-on to the rain of bullets. A nearby bunker burst into flames. Junger didn't know how many of his comrades beside him had fallen, he only knew how to follow the people in front of him and charge.

Suddenly, the soldier beside him fell, and he instinctively fell down. Junger buried his head in the air, and it was not until the steel helmet's eaves touched the ground that he slowly revealed his eyes.

He saw the old sergeant major half-kneeling on the ground, and he was at a distance of more than 70 meters from the pillbox, bravely firing at the firing hole of the pillbox. Junger did not know if he had succeeded, because soon several fighters rushed forward, and they destroyed the pillbox with explosive packs and grenades. Everyone rushed forward, and the Russian army did not retreat because of this, they fired frantically at the front with their rifles, and when the commandos reached the trench, the remaining dozen or so Russian troops threw away their rifles and raised their hands in surrender.

After the first battle, Jung's commandos lost more than half, and the Russians paid the same casualties. Jung leaned against the earthen wall, and there was still some fear in his heart, but after some fighting, he was only left with the persistence of battle and victory.

By five o'clock, the front line was only three kilometers from the city, and Lemberg was about to recover, but the Russian army was also concentrated, and the casualties were increasing, and the 50 regiment lost thousands of people. Although they killed and wounded and captured nearly 2,000 people, the front reported that the Russian army still had at least 3,000 people.

Rudolph ordered the 17 battalion in the rear to concentrate vehicles and move at full speed. This was the last force he was able to muster, and they would take Lomberg tomorrow under the cover of the 133rd Regiment.