The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1236 - 916 Coming to the Door_2

Chapter 1236: Chapter 916: Coming to the Door_2

Chapter 1236 -916: Coming to the Door_2

“`

The entire Western Front Army was conducting a military conference to discuss the current wartime situation and response methods.

During the conference, Western Front Army Commander-in-Chief Pavlov advocated for a firm defense of Bialystok, using its geographical proximity to Grodno and Brest to construct a solid triangular defensive position.

However, the Chief of General Staff of the Army Group had a different opinion, believing that positioning all three army groups of the Western Front Army within the area of the triangular defense mentioned by Pavlov was obviously too risky.

This region, being prominently situated, could utterly annihilate the three Army Groups if they were to be outflanked and ambushed by German armored troops.

But Pavlov clearly scorned the Chief of General Staff’s point of view. At the military conference, Pavlov directly expressed his strong disagreement, “The tactic of using tank forces to attack the enemy’s rear cannot achieve victory in war; tank forces simply cannot cover such distances, and it’s impossible for them to bypass our cities and threaten our rear.”

Of course, the disputes within the Western Front Army weren’t that significant. Although the Western Front Army was under Pavlov’s command, it was clear that all military strategy and war plans were ultimately decided by the Supreme Command.

In such a defensive war, if Pavlov dared to retreat without orders from the Supreme Command, his fate would be easily imagined.

This also meant Pavlov didn’t dare propose plans for retreat, and regardless of whether all forces were concentrated in the vulnerable Bialystok triangle, it had to be defended.

Although Pavlov’s performance was somewhat poor, there were still those in the Western Front Army who could see the situation clearly.

After the military conference concluded, Western Front Army Deputy Commander Bolkhov approached the commanders of the 10th Army Group and the Third Army Group, and proposed his response plan.

The 10th Army Group possessed one mechanized army and one cavalry army, which was the last line of defense the Western Front Army could deploy against the German armored forces.

Consequently, Bolkhov ordered the 6th Mechanized Army and the 6th Cavalry Army of the 10th Army Group to deploy behind Brest and Grodno, to delay the advance of the German armored troops as much as possible.

Additionally, Bolkhov ordered the 11th Mechanized Army of the Third Army Group to launch an attack towards the German positions north of Bialystok, in Suwałki.

Suwałki was located on the former border between Poland and Lithuania, further west of which was Konigsberg in East Prussia.

An attack here could quickly draw the attention of the German Army, reducing the pressure on the Russian forces in the Bialystok area.

After all, Suwałki was just over 100 kilometers away from Konigsberg, and a similar distance from the Baltic Sea.

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If the Russians managed to capture this city, not only could they threaten the East Prussian Region of Germany but also the Baltic States, thereby easing the pressure on Saint Petersburg comprehensively.

If the Baltic States fell, the pressure on the Nordic Trio would drastically decrease, which wouldn’t bode well for Germany at the time.

In the time that followed, the German and Russian armies engaged in fierce offensive and defensive battles around the Bialystok triangular positions.

The German Army launched multiple attacks on Bialystok, but the Russian Army repelled them time after time. However, the German Army inflicted heavy casualties on the Russian forces, particularly on the 10th Army Group at the foremost front, with over 5,000 casualties reported in just a few hours.

Even though an Army Group could consist of upwards of one hundred thousand or even several hundred thousand soldiers, it was clear the Russians could not sustain such large-scale attrition.

On April 16th, at three o’clock in the morning, the 10th Army Group clearly couldn’t hold out any longer, requesting support from the reserve forces.

This was particularly critical; the reserve forces were located in the central rear of the triangle, not only able to support either Bialystok, Grodno, or Brest at any time but also able to protect the rear of the position from sudden German attacks.

But if these reserve forces were deployed, while the defense of Bialystok would be strengthened, there truly would be no troops left guarding the rear of the position.

“`

Although Bolkhov dispatched a tank army and a cavalry army, the number was obviously insignificant compared to the quantity of the German armored forces.

But what could Pavlov do at this moment? He had no solutions whatsoever.

Let alone that the Supreme Command hadn’t issued a retreat order, the casualty situation facing the Tenth Army Group alone forced him to order the reserve forces to support the Tenth Army Group.

If the Tenth Army Group were to crumble due to mass casualties, causing a breach in the defenses of Białystok, then all of Pavlov’s efforts in this triangular area would have been in vain.

It would not only negate all of Pavlov’s efforts after the outbreak of the war but also his achievements before the war began.

Although it was cruel, that was the reality. If the armored forces, even those held in high esteem by the Russian government, couldn’t achieve superior results in this war, they would still face accountability from within Russia Nation.

The real issue causing substantial casualties for the Russian army wasn’t inadequate equipment, but rather an overly dispersed deployment.

Even though the entire Western Front Army was deployed in the triangular zone, Pavlov mistakenly scattered his forces at the battalion level throughout the positions.

The scale of the German Army’s offensives was typically at the level of an army group, which was not a good thing for the Russian army. This was especially true for some infantry regiments with poorer equipment, which were completely powerless against the attacks of German tank units.

For the current Russian army, the biggest trouble wasn’t just an overextended front line but also the need to fill the gaps in it.

This led to the swift utilization of the reserve forces, which were initially meant to be an additional means. Even the reserve forces suffered heavy casualties, affecting the defenses of other Urban Cities.

The absence of news about the German armored forces made Pavlov somewhat anxious, but the fact that Baranovichi was still safe somewhat relieved him.

After all, in Pavlov’s view, armored forces simply couldn’t operate independently; their greatest use was to assist infantry troops in their offensives.

Since the German infantry couldn’t break through the triangular position, even if German tanks could gallop in the rear of the Russian army, they couldn’t threaten the Russian troops.

The safety of Baranovichi at present was the best explanation, for the German armored forces knew their combat effectiveness was inferior, thus they didn’t dare to attack Baranovichi.

However, what Pavlov didn’t expect was that the blow to his face would come so swiftly.

On the morning of April 17, 1937, the German and Russian armies’ attacks unfolded normally.

Pavlov was personally commanding the war in Białystok, which had become the focal point of defense for the Western Front Army and also the main target of the German Army’s offensive.

Looking through his telescope at the battlefield a few kilometers away, ablaze with warfare, Pavlov sighed and turned his gaze to General Grubiev, the commander of the Tenth Army Group beside him, and asked, “How many forces have we lost so far?”

“The Tenth Army Group has lost 16,000 men, with 6,257 killed in action, 5,223 severely wounded, and the rest lightly wounded, still retaining a certain combat capability,” Grubiev replied expressionlessly.

The current losses were approaching that of a division, which was also extremely painful for Grubiev.

“Hold on for a few more days, and there should be news from the Supreme Command,” Pavlov nodded and said as if casually.

“Your Excellency the Commander, there’s news of the German armored forces!” Just at that moment, a messenger suddenly reported.