Chapter 371 Heavy ‘right hook’

Lviv, an important city in western Ukraine. Since Russia declared war on France and joined the war, it has become the command center of the Russian Western Front. According to the order issued here, 200,000 Russian troops launched a fierce attack on Ryshov in southern Poland. The ones stationed at Ryshov were more than 100,000 troops from Poland and Prussia. They were no match for the 200,000 Russian troops at all. Under the fierce attack of the Russian army, after only a few days, Ryshov was captured by the Russian army. Although the Russian Western Front began to attack Poland in depth. However, the 3rd and 4th Divisions of the 88th French Army who arrived later successfully stopped the Russian attack and drove all the Russian troops back to Ukraine, causing the front to fall into a stalemate again.

On May 4, France dispatched the main force of the Iberian 1st Army, the Iberian 2nd Army and the Iberian 3rd Army, with a total of more than 200,000 people. It was temporarily organized into the Iberian Army and implemented the "right hook punch" plan. The French army crossed the border in Hungary and attacked Romania. The Russian army caught off guard and could not stop the French attack at all. In just one week, all the land west of the Alpatian Mountains and north of the Southern Alpatian Mountains was occupied by the French army. Subsequently, the French army crossed the Alpatian Mountains from the Bistrica area and attacked Ukraine northward.

As the entire Ukrainian army gathered on the western border to confront the French army, the Iberian army entered an uninhabited land, crossed the Drest River, crossed the Podir Heights, and attacked the hinterland of Ukraine. The troops pointed directly at Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and formed an encirclement of the Russian Western Front with the troops in southern Poland. This news shocked the entire Ukraine and the entire Russia.

There is no doubt that if Russia cannot respond correctly in a short period of time and cannot send troops to support Ukraine in time, then Ukraine will be occupied by the French army. In addition to retreating, the Russian Western Front will also wait for them to be destroyed.

"General, the French army has occupied the Khmelniksky area, and our retreat has been completely cut off." A commander of the Western Front said nervously.

"General, the French team on the opposite side also had abnormal movements, as if they were preparing for a new offensive. I think we will face the attack of hundreds of thousands of French troops on both sides." Another legion commander said.

"Generals, be quiet. I have reported the information to Marshal Kutuzov, and the Marshal will send troops to support us." said General Yukovsky, commander of the Russian Western Front.

"General, it is said that Marshal Kutuzov returned to Moscow to report his duties. It takes at least half a month to go back and forth here. But God knows when the French army will launch an attack?" said a lieutenant general commander named Vladimir.

"Then what do you think we should retreat now? Do you retreat? The French army is in the west, the French occupation is in the south, the French Iberian army is in the east, and the Pripet swamp is in the north. Where can we retreat? Therefore, sticking here to wait for assistance is our best choice at present." General Yukovsky explained.

The five legion commanders did not refute anymore. They were not fools, and they also knew that Yukovsky's method was the only feasible method at present. Of course, if they could abandon those troops, they could retreat from the Pripet swamp. Although the Pripet swamp could not allow the army to pass through, they could still allow the small troops to travel smoothly. But in that case, what awaited them would be the ruthless trial of the military court.

The Iberian Army's attack was so smooth that it was beyond the expectations of everyone, including Xiao Jie, that they did not prepare the corresponding combat plan in time. When they understood that it had already meant a waste of time. At the same time, the next target of the Iberian Army's attack also caused controversy. Some people advocated that the Iberian Army should cooperate with the army in southern Poland to attack the Russian Western Front and annihilate the Russian elite Front. Others proposed a more bold plan. They proposed that the Iberian Army continue to march to the north, capture Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and then march towards Moscow. Taking advantage of the fact that Russia's troops are now empty, they will capture Moscow and completely end the war.

The two solutions have their own advantages and disadvantages. Attacking the Russian Western Front can completely solve the Russian threat to southern Poland and lay the foundation for a larger counterattack. However, this also unexpectedly loses the opportunity to end the war as soon as possible. Once Russia reacts, it will be difficult for the French army to have the opportunity to threaten Moscow so smoothly. However, if you choose to advance to Kiev, you will also face many problems. The first is the issue of logistics supply. Due to the long front line, the Iberian Front's logistics

The supply line is already very fragile. Once the logistics supply line is cut off, it will cause a catastrophe to the Iberian Army. Some people suggest that airships can be used to provide logistics support to the Iberian Army, but how huge the daily consumption of more than 200,000 people is. Various combat materials, including ammunition, will occupy 70% of the resources of the Air Force. At the same time, going deep into the army alone is also a taboo. Once the Russian army reacts, the Iberian Army will be trapped in a heavy siege.

After detailed consideration, Xiao Jie still chose to attack the Russian Western Front and first eliminate the Russian army's vitality. However, it was May 20th. The panicked Russian government had urgently ordered the Russian Southern Front to attack westward. The order they received was to block the French attack no matter what, and they could not allow them to capture Kiev or continue to attack westward.

What Tsar Nikolai and Kutuzov were worried about was that the French army would continue to march towards Moscow, and that would have almost no better way than to make another emergency transfer like they did 20 years ago.

"Your Majesty, the Southern Front has been dispatched and they will arrive in Kiev within 4 days." Kutuzov reported to Nikola.

"If the French Iberian Army attacks Kiev, can the defenders last for 4 days?" Nicholas asked.

Kutuzov shook his head. Kiev had only less than 30,000 second-line troops, and could not resist the attack of more than 200,000 elite French troops. Resisting the French attack for 4 days was simply an unrealistic delusion.

"It seems we have to organize our army to carry out the battle of Moscow's defense!" Nichola said helplessly. He no longer had the kind of passion that declared war on France at the beginning. The French army's successive victory completely stunned the Russian army. Not only did not achieve the expected results, but was attacked by others in the hinterland of the country. Nichola felt quite ashamed. Everything was the fault of the Austrians. If they could hold on for a while, the situation would not develop as it is now. The Southwest Front was annihilated in Austria, which made Nicholas very angry. This anger was also vented to the Emperor Francis I of Russia. After so many days, Nicholas refused to receive Francis, and the Russian officials were also very rude to the Austrians.

"Your Majesty, but our troops are very empty now. The newly recruited 900,000 troops are being trained in the Ural area. Without 3 to 4 months, they will not be able to form combat power at all." Kutuzov said with a bitter face.

"Where is the second-line troops? How many can we call in a short time?" Nicholas asked.

"The second-tier troops are very dispersed. With a limit of one week, we can gather up to about 100,000 people." Kutuzov asked.

"That's it. Immediately order the second-line troops to assemble to Moscow, and the Moscow defenders should be able to stop the French army for a period of time. During this period, the Southern Front Army should also be able to arrive." Nicholas sighed and said.

Kutuzov nodded and went to issue an order.

Two days later, Kutuzov met Nikolai with a happy look on his face. "Your Majesty, the news that had just been sent back from the front line. The French Iberian Front did not continue to march towards Kiev, but turned around to march to western Ukraine. It seems that they are preparing to attack the Western Front. In this case, Moscow's threat will be lifted, but the Western Front is in a bit dangerous." Kutuzov reported.

"What? The French Iberian Front did not continue to march north?" Nicholas was ecstatic and seemed to have no concern about the life and death of the 200,000 people of the Western Front.

"Your Majesty, what should we do now? The Western Front Army is obviously not an opponent of the French army's hundreds of thousands of troops. If you defend it, it will probably be destroyed like the Southwest Front Army, but if you retreat, there is no way to retreat. Therefore, I think we should order the Southern Front Army to continue to advance westward quickly and rescue the Western Front Army. At the same time, we order the Western Front Army to defend Lviv and wait for the Southern Front Army's rescue. We must not retreat without authorization." Kutuzov said in a deep voice. Because if the Western Front Army orders to retreat, it is likely to be a great defeat due to the French pursuit. In this case, not only will the Western Front Army suffer heavy losses, but it may also affect the Southern Front Army.
Chapter completed!