The battle of Koveli had begun. The commander of the Prussian army was Major General Luke of the 22nd Division. He was a rising star in the army during the last Prussian war.
Luke, who was born an ordinary Juncker landowner, had relied on extraordinary willpower and a bit of luck to become a general.
He had thought that his willpower was strong enough, and that no matter how cruel the battle was, it wouldn't shake him.
But now, Major General Luke realized that he was wrong, and his heart was in turmoil. Luke sighed in his heart, "So I'm just an ordinary person."
The Russians didn't hide in their bunkers. When the Prussians charged, the Russian Army counterattacked, and a fierce battle broke out.
The battlefield was filled with shouts and cries of pain. Luke saw with his own eyes a Prussian soldier get stabbed in the stomach by an enemy bayonet. As he screamed, he gripped the enemy's gun tightly to create an opportunity for his comrades.
Once upon a time, he had been one of them. It was only because of his good luck that he managed to obtain some military merits that he was able to enjoy a meteoric rise.
Thinking back to his comrades who had joined the army with him, all those familiar faces had fallen on the battlefield in the end.
To a certain extent, Luke's meteoric rise was built on the fact that the Prussians had suffered heavy losses in the last war.
In times of war, the army relied on achievements, and the influence of one's family background was minimized.
A large number of middle and lower officers had died in battle, and with the expansion of the army, Luke, who was lucky enough to make a name for himself, naturally stood out.
Looking at the increasing number of casualties, Luke gradually calmed down. He realized that something wasn't right. The Russian Army seemed to be deliberately luring them to attack.
Night fell, and the flames of war temporarily stopped, leaving behind only the wreckage on the ground.
In the command center, Luke felt that something was wrong. The Russians seemed to be purposely trying to exhaust them.
Suppressing his doubts, Luke asked, "Are the casualty figures out?"
Chief of Staff Pasqualino sighed. "The figures are out. During the day, 526 soldiers were injured and 248 were killed. Two battalions were lost just like that."
Luke stood up and took two steps forward. "Another two battalions. Since the start of the war, our 22nd Division alone has lost almost 3,000 men. If the entire battlefield is like this, then I'm afraid this war will be unprecedentedly tragic. "
Chief of Staff Pasqualino: "There's nothing we can do about it. War is always cruel. The reinforcements sent by the headquarters have already set off and will arrive in two days at most. "
The Pu Army had also established a perfect wartime replenishment system. Usually, there would not be a situation where a unit was completely wiped out without reinforcements.
Under normal circumstances, when the casualties of the troops reached a certain level, they would be replaced and sent to the rear for repairs and replenishment.
Of course, the rear was only relative. It was still the front line. When needed, he still had to go to the battlefield at any time.
After hesitating for a moment, Luke said, "Forget it, it's not up to us to worry about these problems. Let's report our current situation!
Tell HQ we need heavy artillery. If we don't have enough heavy firepower, we can't guarantee that we can capture the enemy's stronghold within the allotted time. "
It couldn't be helped. Pu Jun was unlucky. The train transporting artillery ammunition was ambushed by the Russian Army's airship halfway and suffered heavy losses.
Heavy artillery was a scarce resource in any country. The Pu Bo Federation only had a few heavy artillery regiments, and they had lost one before they even went to the battlefield. Naturally, there was no way to replenish them in a few days.
Chief of Staff Pasqualino shook his head. "I'm afraid it won't be easy. Don't have too much hope. There are only so many heavy artillery units in the country, and they've all been sent to the front line. The new heavy artillery regiment is still being formed.
According to internal information, Krupp has already sent technicians to repair the damaged artillery. It will take at least a month to repair the damaged artillery.
Under the best circumstances, we should be able to receive heavy firepower support in about four weeks. "
Luke frowned. "Can you get HQ to coordinate and transfer the heavy artillery units attacking the surrounding areas here?
Kovelli is a strategic location. If we take it, we'll take the Warren area. Why waste energy on small places like Kamen and Novovolensk? "
Chief of Staff Pasqualino said, "This is the strategy formulated by the General Staff. As long as we can make a breakthrough in any place, it will be a great victory."
Luke waved his hand. "Don't explain, old man. I know what's going on. HQ isn't sure if we can take Kovelli.
If we really look at it from an overall perspective, Kovelli isn't that important. Brest is the key. "
"It's good that you understand!" Chief of Staff Pasqualino replied calmly.
Luke said, "Alright, let's put these questions aside for now. Have you noticed that something's wrong with the Russians? They don't seem to be going all out, and are deliberately luring us to attack.
If they go all out, our troops won't be able to reach their positions at all. Why would they make such worthless sacrifices? "
Chief of Staff Pasqualino nodded thoughtfully. After a pause, he said, "I want to see the casualty figures. Maybe that can explain the problem."
Luke's expression changed as he came to a realization. If the Russian Army went all out, the Prussian Army, which lacked heavy firepower, wouldn't be able to reach their positions.
Without any hope of victory, the Prussian Army would naturally make meaningless sacrifices. If the Prussian Army didn't take the initiative to attack, how could the Russian Army achieve such results?
Most of the Russian Army stationed in Kovelli were second-line troops. This wasn't the main battlefield chosen by the Russians, and the Tsarist government had ordered them to defend.
"Those damn Russians, they're playing with fire. Aren't they afraid that we'll break through their positions? You should know that this kind of battle is of no value to them at all. "
Chief of Staff Pasqualino didn't reply. It didn't matter what the Russians thought. As long as there was a chance to break through Kovelli, they wouldn't stop.
…
In the Russian Army's command center, Major General Arden Ivanov was also looking at the casualty report. He was in a much better mood. As the defending side, they would always have an advantage.
"Fike, your suggestion is brilliant. Those damn Prussia barbarians, they really fell for it. They actually want to take Kovelli down. They must be dreaming! "
As a military observer sent by Austria, under normal circumstances, he wasn't allowed to participate in the command of the Russian Army, but there were always exceptions.
Over the years of the Russo-Austrian Alliance, the Government of Vienna had cultivated a large number of pro-Austrians within Russia, and Major General Arden Ivanov was one of them.
Fike and Arden were classmates and graduated from the Austrian Military Academy together. Because of their good relationship, Fike was sent here as an observer.
Even though they were both students of the Austrian Military Academy, there was still a difference between a bad student and a top student.
For a foreigner like Arden, the requirements of the school weren't as strict. As long as he could get by, it would be fine.
Foreign monks were good at chanting. After Arden returned to Russia, he naturally rose through the ranks. Just in time for the expansion of the army, he became a Major General in the Russian Army before the age of thirty.
In comparison, Fike, a talented student, was only a Major. It couldn't be helped. The competition in the Austrian Army was much fiercer.
After the military reform, there were no more frontline promotions in the Austrian Army. Unless one made contributions, he could only take it one step at a time.
This was the Royal Family starting to set an example. Crown Prince Frederick The Great had served for several years and was still a Major, let alone his subordinates.
Seeing his classmate's high spirits, Major Fike was very envious. There was no soldier who didn't like being a General.
Even though Fike had a good background, he couldn't guarantee that he could become a General in his lifetime. There were thousands of officers in Austria every year, but there wasn't even one General.
This was the peacetime. No matter how good one was, it was hard to have a chance to show off. If one couldn't show off his abilities, how could he prove that he was better than others?
Fike rolled his eyes. "What's there to be excited about? You guys are on the defensive side. The exchange ratio is almost 1: 1. It's already embarrassing!"
Arden didn't care. "No, this is already very good. In the last Prussia war, the exchange ratio between us and Prussia was more than 1: 2.
Now that we have a slight advantage, even with the advantage of defense, it's still a great victory.
The population of the Russian Empire is more than twice that of the Prussia Federation. If we continue like this, the final victory will be ours.
Moreover, my division is made up of second-line troops. If it was the main force, I would have ordered a counterattack. "
Fike didn't object. The Russian Army's combat ability was not bad. Even though their training couldn't be compared to the Prussia Army and their organization was lacking, they were outstanding in other aspects.
Especially in terms of tenacity, the Russian Army was one of the best in the world. It was rare to see an army that could fight as long as they had something to eat.
After hesitating for a while, Major Fike reminded him, "Arden, are you sure you want to continue? If we continue like this, even if we kill the enemy, your division will be exhausted. "
Even though he was the one who suggested this, Fike didn't like this kind of pointless exhaustion. If it wasn't for the fact that his country wanted him to think of a way to make the Russians bleed as much as possible, he wouldn't have come up with this stupid idea.
Arden smiled. "There are always sacrifices in war. As long as we can win, what's the harm in suffering more casualties?"
From a different perspective, one's way of thinking was different. Arden wasn't an idiot. He could tell that Fike's suggestion wasn't good, but he didn't care.
To him, as long as they could win, sacrificing some gray animals was not worth mentioning.
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