Chapter 736 A Ghost
The German Eighth Army on the northern front concentrated 2,000 artillery pieces, 2,000 machine guns, and 60,000 soldiers, crossed the Western Dvina River in the Ixkür region, broke through the defense of the Russian 12th Army on the east bank, and launched an offensive towards Rodenbois and Hinzenberg. It also carried out auxiliary assaults on Mayorenhof, Belbek, and Riga.
The Germans launched an attack after a fierce artillery preparation using chemical shells. They concentrated their superior forces on a narrow front, quickly crossed the Western Dvina River and wedged into the Russian defense zone. The counterattacks of the Russian army group reserve and the counterattacks of the first echelon troops failed to stop the German attack.
In Ludendorff's battle plan, the offensive on the northern front was the top priority, because the capital of the Russian Empire was Petrograd. Once the Baltic coast of the northern front was occupied, it would be a huge blow to the entire Russian Empire.
At this time, Ludendorff still did not expect that the results of this offensive would far exceed the expectations of the entire German command. There was progress not only on the northern front, but the German-Austrian coalition forces along the entire front had made amazing breakthroughs.
The Austrian infantry advancing on the southern front seemed to understand this, so their steps were particularly strenuous and the momentum of their attack was much stronger than the previous time. Coupled with the unremitting bombardment of their own artillery, there seemed to be no signs of human activity on the Russian positions, and even the Russian artillery did not fire at the advancing Austro-Hungarian columns as they did last time.
The battlefield was unusually quiet, with only the tiny flames left by artillery fire on the Russian positions still burning silently.
The Austrian infantry continued to advance, and when they came to the trench that had dealt them a heavy blow, everyone seemed to be very cautious. Contrary to their expectations, the Russian trench did not burst into dense bullets like last time. In this strangely calm atmosphere, the Austrian army quickly built simple pedals on the trench, and then crossed the trench one by one.
Compared with the numerous corpses of Austrian soldiers on this side of the trench, the side of the trench close to the Russian trench was obviously much cleaner. After all, only a few Austrian soldiers crossed the trench in the previous attack, and now the ground there was mostly covered with charred and smoking craters.
The answer to whether the Russians retreated or had other plans should be behind the Russian trenches. The soldiers, who were expecting, cheered for victory. After crossing the Russian trenches, the infantry saw the backs of the Russians fleeing.
The Russian soldiers began to abandon their cannons and evacuate their positions, but their legs were no match for the cavalry's horses. More and more people were chopped to the ground by the Austro-Hungarian cavalry's swords. The brutal cavalry had no intention of taking in prisoners of war. Even if the deserters raised their hands to surrender, the enemy's sabers would still chopped them down mercilessly. The area around the position suddenly became a hell on earth, and the screams of the imperial Russian soldiers were endless.
Just a week ago, this scene was about the treatment given by the Imperial Russian soldiers to the Austro-Hungarian army. No one would have thought that the roles would change so quickly and unexpectedly.
The Russian Empire, which had been enduring the siege of the Allied Powers alone, had been gritting its teeth and holding on for three years. The last straw that broke the camel's back came during the all-out offensive by the German-Austrian coalition.
"Is it possible that Imperial Russia can no longer hold on?" After confirming that the troops on various fronts had reported good news, Ludendorff found Hindenburg, who had cooperated with him on the Eastern Front for more than a year, and asked with full joy and uncertain worry.
This offensive, which lasted only a few days, was bigger than the previous three years combined. Even the Austro-Hungarian front had received shocking good news, as the German-Austrian coalition seemed to be in unmanned territory.
Compared with the tremendous progress on the central and southern fronts, the fighting on the northern front suddenly became unremarkable. However, this is not surprising. The attack on the northern front threatened the capital of Imperial Russia, and the desperate resistance of the Russian army here was understandable.
The troops on the central and southern fronts had made great progress; the three Russian armies they were facing had been defeated.
Hindenburg immediately came to the map, simulated the battlefield situation in his mind, and suddenly turned back to look at Ludendorff and said, "Perhaps we have a chance to end the war on the Eastern Front, defeat the enemy, or create an environment that is favorable to the empire to end the war."
Hindenburg and Ludendorff had always been critical of the German Chief of Staff's strategy of focusing on the Western Front. According to their ideas, after the setback in the border battle in 1914, they should concentrate their main forces and defeat the Russian Empire together with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This was the best way to solve the two-front war. Moreover, the Russian Empire was surrounded by the Allies as a whole, so there was room for success.
Now that Falkenhayn has mobilized the main forces from the Western Front, it is just making up for what should have been done long ago.
"We need troops, as many troops as possible, even Italians. Anyone wearing a military uniform and walking onto the land of the Russian Empire now can further aggravate the collapse of the Russian Empire." Hindenburg became excited and walked around the headquarters. "Report the war situation to His Majesty immediately!"
In just a few days, the German-Austrian coalition forces on the Eastern Front advanced 150 kilometers. This news shocked the world. The British and French coalition forces on the Western Front launched attacks on German positions on their own fronts. Poison gas shells were fired at each other as if they were free. The poisonous smoke never dissipated on both sides' positions. A large number of soldiers had to pay a heavy price for the uncontrolled use of chemical weapons.
But at this point, nothing could be taken care of. Up to this point in the war, except for the border battles, the Western Front had not been pushed forward so far in such a short time. If the Eastern Front was as the news released by the Germans said, it could only mean one thing: Imperial Russia had already shown signs of collapse. Upon learning of the crisis of Imperial Russia, Britain and France ignored the tricks between each other and attacked the Allied positions like crazy.
Artillery shells poured down like they were free, and at the same time, the British Prime Minister and the French President publicly announced, "The United States of America is about to join the Allied camp!" This statement was not only to stabilize the morale of the country's citizens, but also to hope that this good news could give the precarious Russian Empire a little confidence.
As if seeing hope for the end of the war, the German troops on the Eastern Front threw themselves into the battle without hesitation. The German Eighth Army on the Northern Front began to bombard Riga, and the German soldiers wearing helmets launched the attack despite the firepower of the Russian counterattack.
On October 19, Riga was captured. Before the German soldiers of the Eighth Army could catch their breath, the reserve reinforcements continued to advance directly through the road they had opened. On October 20, the German army had entered Estonia and once again fought with the Imperial Russian army there. Petrograd was shaken, and Nicholas II had to consider a very morale-damaging issue: should he take refuge in Moscow? Should he imitate Napoleon's invasion and the strategy of clearing the countryside?
Grand Duke Nicholas made the decision earlier than Nicholas II. He had ordered the front line to start clearing the roads leading to Petrograd. Imperial Russian soldiers began to destroy the roads and railways from the Baltic region to Petrograd along the way, and at the same time notified local residents to evacuate. The situation in Petrograd was not much better. Rumors were everywhere and the residents of the entire city were in panic.
Washington, the British and French envoys to Washington, urged the federal government twice a day to ask about the specific time of joining the war. If the United States of America could announce to the world that it would join the Allied camp now, it could even lead to a trend throughout America, which is exactly what the Allied camp needs now.
"The attack of the German-Austrian coalition seems to be a familiar plan." Looking at the arrows of the German-Austrian coalition's attack on the European map, Sheffield thought about it and finally matched it with the Barbarossa plan in his mind.
The full-scale attack of the 2.3 million German-Austrian coalition forces and the current retreat of the Russian Empire are just like the war thirty years later. The door was pushed open and Jesla poked his head in. "Boss, did Madam Edith call you for dinner or should she bring it to you?"
"Send it over here!" Sheffield said without turning his head, his eyes still on the map on the wall.
Only a few minutes later, Edith Rockefeller came in with lunch and urged, "What are you looking at? Does your stomach have a special structure?"
"Look at the ghost!" Sheffield gave a very ridiculous answer, but also a very correct answer. A ghost, the ghost of communism, seemed to be about to emerge.
"It seems that a number of newspapers have asked the federal government to reconsider its decision to join the war." Edith Rockefeller asked in an interrogative tone, "Does this have anything to do with you?"
"Really not this time." Sheffield shook his head, quickly stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth and swallowed it, saying incoherently, "These newspapers will soon be visited by FBI agents. At this point, it's too late to say anything about not joining the war. There's no room for regret."
"Just as you said before, the Germans are very powerful." Edith Rockefeller sighed, "Citibank should not have lent money to the British. My brother regrets it a little."
"The great thing was only two years ago. The British were able to find teammates like France and Russia, but the Germans couldn't." Sheffield put down the plate and said helplessly, "This is the advantage of being the world hegemon. But one thing is true, the Russian Empire seems to be unable to hold on."
On November 2, 1917, the United States officially announced its entry into the war and began to prepare for the dispatch of an expeditionary force. This news made the British and French people celebrate, but before they could be happy for long, a piece of news like a bolt from the blue made everyone stunned. A revolution broke out in Petrograd, Nicholas II announced his abdication, and the Russian Empire no longer existed.
Then a group calling themselves the Bolsheviks, known to other countries as the spectre, appeared.
(End of this chapter)
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