Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 113 Let's Make a Small Dumpling First (A Long Chapter of 6,000 Words)

May 12, 5:5 a.m.

After an hour and a half of rapid preparation, it finally got completely light.

At dawn, it could be seen that there was almost no living creature left in the town of Gorlitse and within a few kilometers to the north and south, and within a depth of 5 kilometers.

More than 200 heavy artillery pieces thoroughly ravaged the area. Perhaps some of the Lusha soldiers who were originally stationed in this area survived, but they could no longer stay in place and all retreated to more rear positions to try to reorganize their defenses.

Over the past hour and a half, several thousand Lusa soldiers, ragged and disheveled, eventually fled the position and returned to the rear to reorganize a simple defense.

This approach is actually quite correct.

Because there are no self-propelled artillery pieces in this era, it takes at least half a day for the attacking heavy artillery units to move and deploy—last night the Demagnesians spent almost the entire night getting the artillery regiments under William Keitel's command to the front lines and set up.

Now, after bombarding the outermost 5-kilometer-long positions of the French army for an hour and a half, if they want to extend the bombardment further, they will have to spend another day moving the artillery positions forward by 5 kilometers before they can start firing again.

The Lusha army wasn't stupid either. After discovering that the enemy had "extremely strong firepower but limited range," the smartest thing to do was to immediately retreat, withdraw out of the enemy's artillery range, and bring both sides back to a level playing field where no artillery was available.

These actions by the Lusha army, of course, did not escape the notice of Demanian artillery observers and aerial reconnaissance aircraft.

"What a pity. If we had brought up 150mm and 105mm cannons last night, none of these thousands of men would have been able to retreat and regain their footing. It's because we only have field artillery. If they retreat a few kilometers or abandon the front lines, they will escape our firing range."

When William Keitel looked away from the gunner's scope, he couldn't help but sigh a few times.

However, he knew there was nothing he could do about it. Long-range cannons were certainly desirable, but they were also heavy.

How could something weighing 10 tons be transported over muddy ground using a newly invented half-track tractor? It would be good enough if there were short-barreled field guns weighing 2 to 3 tons. Without these half-tracks, even short-barreled field guns wouldn't have made it to their current positions.

Therefore, the performance of the infantrymen will be crucial from here on out.

Fortunately, the Lusa people were forced to abandon their frontline defenses, which stretched for a full 5 kilometers. Their subsequent second-line positions were certainly not very strong, and the retreating soldiers must have lost a lot of equipment. The brothers in the assault battalion should be able to handle it.

……

William Keitel's performance had just ended when Colonel Federer von Bock led four assault battalions onto the stage.

As the name suggests, assault battalions are combat units that operate at the "battalion" level, and rarely assemble at the next higher level into "regiments".

But the situation today is very special, forcing Field Marshal Leopold to risk using all four assault battalions together.

Colonel Lelouch von Hunt, who was temporarily acting as his advisor, also approved of this expedient measure for the special circumstances.

Traditionally, assault battalions discouraged concentrated use of artillery fire, primarily to better call for artillery support.

Each platoon in the assault battalion carries a radio. If any changes are detected in the enemy's resistance at the front, each platoon can send a message to call for artillery fire from the rear.

Therefore, deploying multiple assault battalions at once would result in redundancy and waste. In any case, as the artillery caller, one battalion spread out on a 5-kilometer-wide front is sufficient.

Even if we add three or four times the number of troops, we can't call in more artillery fire. If the enemy has heavy firepower coverage, the high density of the assault battalion would only increase unnecessary casualties.

But today's situation is very different. There is no long-range heavy artillery support from the Demanian army near the battlefield of Gorlitze, only short-barreled field guns with a range of less than 8 kilometers. The assault battalion's greatest advantage, "precise artillery call-in," has been rendered useless.

Fortunately, the opposing Lusa army also lacked heavy artillery. Their few remaining artillery units had been wiped out by the Demacians in the previous raid. The Lusa, hastily retreating and rebuilding their defenses, probably didn't even have time to move all their heavy machine guns.

In that case, the drawback of "the intensive use of assault battalions leading to unnecessary increased casualties when under heavy fire" is almost non-existent.

In order to speed up the attack, it is not surprising that some military principles are temporarily violated.

There are no fixed rules in military strategy; the best strategy is the one that fits the current situation.

4个突击营，大约3000把冲锋枪、260挺MG15轻机枪、260具掷弹筒。

With such powerful firepower, Colonel von Bock was brimming with confidence as he attacked the remnants of the French 57th Division, which had already been severely decimated by heavy artillery fire.

The assault battalion soldiers, dressed in yellow-brown-green camouflage for the eastern front, all wearing steel helmets and work boots with steel-plated toe caps, carried submachine guns and a large number of hand grenades, and charged forward swiftly.

The first 5 kilometers were almost as easy as a horse racing across the territory, with only a very few survivors who remained in place and did not escape, holding Mosin-Nagant guns to resist.

Such resistance was naturally suppressed by the MG15 light machine gun and then ruthlessly annihilated by attacks from all directions, leaving not a ripple.

The machine gun fire, "rat-a-tat-tat~," pinned down every exposed Lusa soldier in the trench, preventing them from raising their heads. Demacian assault troops, having gotten close, then appeared out of nowhere and threw grenades from all angles, completely wiping out the enemy.

The resistance only intensified slightly when they advanced to within about 6 kilometers of the enemy's pre-arranged positions. These areas had been relatively untouched by Demacian heavy artillery due to their limited range, and the positions remained largely intact.

However, these original second- or third-line backup positions may not even have a complete 1.2-meter trench; they are mostly just foxholes.

……

"Commander! The Demacians are charging!"

On the eastern edge of the town of Gorlice, next to a collapsed building, in a cellar, Major General Dubinov, commander of the 57th Division of the Russian Army, was still in shock.

His original division headquarters had been abandoned during the Demacian bombardment and moved here.

Unexpectedly, less than two hours after the relocation, the enemy charged up again.

"Are these Demanians insane? They're not satisfied with advancing 5 kilometers a day, and they're launching continuous attacks on our deep positions without any artillery cover? Have each regiment and battalion count the number of surviving heavy machine gun crews and build a crossfire network. We must hold the last line of defense!"

Our defense zone only has 2-3 kilometers of depth left. If it's completely breached, allowing the enemy to enter open terrain, they can outflank and encircle our railway lines!

Major General Dubinov couldn't help but curse as he gave instructions.

Logically speaking, the construction of heavy machine gun positions and fire networks is not something a division commander should be concerned with.

But right now, almost all of the division's artillery has been lost, and they can only hold out with light weapons and machine guns to buy time. As the division commander, he doesn't have much to do, so he can only compromise and work with the lower-ranking officers.

The 57th Division of the Russian Army should have had 21,000 men at full strength. Before the battle today, it had only 15,000 men left. However, it has now been bombed down to only 7000 men left to defend, many of whom are still slightly wounded. The defensive positions are also very weak.

Many of the soldiers who escaped were empty-handed, leaving the entire division with only about 4 Mosin-Nagant rifles.

As Von Bock led several assault battalions into the firing range of the 57th Division's densely packed defensive positions, the Mosin-Nagant began firing a rapid-fire barrage.

The Demandian charge slowed slightly as soldiers took cover and took turns providing cover. But this slowdown lasted only 5 to 10 minutes before the Demandian MG15 light machine gun squads began to counterattack and suppress the Mosin-Nagant troops, pinning them down.

The Lushars' M1910 Maxim heavy machine guns also began to expose their firepower and engage in firefights with the enemy.

With the continuous barrage of heavy machine gun fire, the German light machine gun teams on the opposite side were forced to adopt a low profile once again, but they quickly found a new solution. Large numbers of light machine gun teams rapidly moved along trenches or used field ridges and bushes as cover.

Wherever the enemy's heavy machine guns were not looking, the German light machine gun teams immediately set up firing lines and found angles. Bock's battalions had more than 200 light machine guns, a number that far exceeded the total number of heavy machine guns in Dubinov's 57th Division.

A Lusa division theoretically only has about 30 heavy machine guns, and some were lost in the recent retreat, leaving only 20.

Demacians typically use a dozen or so guns at a time, and as long as their tactics are excellent and their mobility and positioning are reliable, they can easily find blind spots and draw fire.

This is something that anyone who has played PUBG can easily understand.

Soon, the Demacians, using a strategy of harassing one enemy at a time, managed to suppress the Lusa heavy machine guns. Whenever the Lusa heavy machine guns focused their fire in a particular direction, a firing point would suddenly appear on their flank and unleash a barrage of fire. Meanwhile, the German light machine gun crews, targeted by the heavy machine guns, would quickly retreat and relocate.

The officers of the Lusha Army, from the major generals to the division commanders, watched the enemy's orderly attack through their binoculars and couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.

"What kind of elite force is this? Have the Demacians become this terrifying? We fought them last year, and although we lost, they weren't nearly as strong as they are now!"

Major General Dubinov could no longer suppress his fear.

The Lusa army can easily defeat the Austrian army, but they are repeatedly defeated by the Demacian army, a situation that the Lusa army generals are familiar with.

In the two battles of Tannenberg and Lake Masur last year, Hindenburg's 20 men fought against Rosa's 60 men (who were deployed in two separate battles), and in the end, Hindenburg killed 40 Rosa's men, while Demania itself only lost 5 men.

露沙人3包1还能被反杀2个、交换比8比1，这在德露两军交手时，都算是正常现象。

But today, the enemy's breakthrough was swift, their tactics sophisticated, and their orderly—the exchange ratio was likely far greater than 1 to 8. History will not give Major General Dubinov much time for fear and reflection.

While he was filled with fear and confusion, von Bock's assault battalions had already adopted newer breakthrough tactics.

Dozens of grenade launcher teams, under the suppressive cover of their own intersecting light machine gun lines, slowly made their way forward, relying on field ridges, roadside edges, shallow ditches, and foxholes, and finally reached their attack positions one after another.

"I didn't expect the Lusha Army's defenses to be so weak, their trenches not even forming a network. Instead, they've created some minor trouble for our advance." Colonel von Bock watched through his binoculars as many of his own grenade launcher teams took up their firing positions, and then murmured with a hint of satisfaction.

In the western front, in theaters with more developed trench networks, once infiltrated into the enemy's trench network, submachine gunners and grenades could clear a path and gradually eliminate the invading forces. Grenade launcher teams could also advance safely from the trenches until they were within firing range.

The effective range of light and heavy machine guns is generally over 800 meters. Even at greater distances, bullets still have lethality, but the accuracy is lost.

Even if hit by a stray bullet from 1500 meters away, it can still kill a person.

The effective range of a grenade launcher is mainly between 100 and 500 meters. Beyond that, the accuracy drops sharply, but in any case, the range is definitely not as good as that of a heavy machine gun. If the range of a grenade launcher can exceed that of a heavy machine gun, then what is the use of a mortar?

Therefore, grenade launchers are only truly effective against heavy machine guns in relatively complex and easily accessible terrain. Today's open battlefields with few fortifications actually offer the Lu Sha Army some advantages, but fortunately, they have ultimately overcome these challenges.

"Bang bang bang~" "Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"

As grenades soared into the sky at high angles toward the heavy machine gun positions of the Russo Army, the last defensive core of the Russo 57th Division was gradually dismantled by this close-range precision strike.

Moreover, the grenade launchers soon landed not only near the heavy machine gun positions, but also in the densely packed trench areas where Lusa Army infantry were clustered.

Within a distance of three to five hundred meters, all targets can be precisely observed, slowly aimed at, and finally fired accurately.

Even if the shot misses, they can simply readjust the range and fire a few more shots. Everything seems so relaxed and effortless, completely oblivious to the cruelty of war.

At least from the perspective of the killers, there is no cruelty to be seen.

As for the victims, that goes without saying.

Sprays of blood and minced meat splattered in the trenches and foxholes of the Lusa people, violently assaulting the nerves of the Lusa soldiers.

The clatter of submachine guns grew louder, closer, and more intense. Like a death knell, it drove countless Lusa soldiers insane, causing them to scream wildly as they threw down their weapons and tried to flee.

"Don't run away, hold on, hold on!" A group of officers from Rusha, led by Major General Dubinov, were still trying to salvage the already collapsed morale and discipline, but the soldiers were already out of control.

Major General Dubinov pulled out his pistol and shot the most frantic deserter, which triggered the fragile and sensitive nerves of the other deserters.

Driven by an instinctive will to survive, as a group of deserters passed by Major General Dubinov, several Mosin-Nagants with bayonets fixed suddenly thrust at him, catching Major General Dubinov completely off guard.

He stared in astonishment at the large holes punched in his chest and stomach. He wanted to utter some insults, but a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of lung blood gushed from his mouth, and he collapsed straight down.

从凌晨4点被炮击、5点半被地面进攻、8点被逼到离开原前线五公里以外的二线防区死守，如今才上午10点，整个露57师的防区已经被彻底打崩。

The remaining soldiers fled uncontrollably, followed by the raucous roar of submachine guns and light machine guns. Ultimately, only about three or four thousand survived; the rest perished on the battlefield.

After successfully defeating the remnants of the 57th Division, Colonel Federer von Bock did not dare to rest. He continued to order his soldiers to advance rapidly, taking advantage of the fact that there were no enemies ahead, and to penetrate further into enemy territory.

Behind Colonel Bock's assault battalions, there were also several division-sized main forces of the 10th Army, which began to infiltrate and outflank the enemy's rear along this breakthrough, trying to get behind the three Luftwaffe divisions that were holding the railway, and then turn around to cut off the railway.

The cavalry division sent by General Brusilov, commander of the 8th Army in the Rusa Front, to reinforce them is still on its way.

They had no idea that the 57th Division, which was an allied force, had been annihilated by the enemy at 10 a.m. that day, and that the position in the town of Gorlitse had been completely lost.

At 11:30 a.m., a full 11 kilometers behind the Gollitze defense line, when the 12th Cossack Cavalry Division, which was rushing to reinforce, saw infantry units marching rapidly in the distance, they initially mistook them for their own routed troops.

"What's going on? It's only 11 a.m., and only 7 hours since the enemy started shelling. How come there are so many deserters in the 57th Division? And they've even fled so far behind the defensive line? You guys quickly divide into teams and surround them, and capture those deserters!" Upon seeing this, some officers in the cavalry division who were at the forefront issued orders in unison to their subordinates to restrain the deserters.

However, as they got closer, they soon realized they had misjudged the situation.

Unfortunately it was too late.

The incessant clatter of light machine gun fire swept across the battlefield, and the Cossack cavalrymen who had been charging ahead with such swagger were swept away and fell to the ground in the mud.

"It's Demanians! Quickly create distance and deploy the field artillery!"

"Damn it! How did the Demanians get here? Has the 57th Division defending Gorlitz been completely wiped out? How come they didn't even send a telegram before they were wiped out!"

"This is terrifying! Could it be that the Demacians' attack was too swift, so swift that the telegram hadn't even finished being sent before the city fell? Why didn't those idiots anticipate the fall and send the telegram sooner?!"

Although there were still many clear-headed people in the command structure of the 12th Cossack Cavalry Division who gave correct instructions such as "deploy the artillery".

However, the entire cavalry division could not be commanded in a hurry. To switch from a marching state to a combat state immediately would involve at least half an hour of chaos.

The Demacian light machine guns continued their frenzied firing, mowing down any cavalry that got too close.

Some of the cavalry officers, enraged by the gunfire, were unwilling to suffer losses in vain and attempted to launch a charge to break through the enemy's thin lines, but they soon proved with their lives how arrogant and unrealistic this idea was.

After suffering one or two thousand casualties, the 12th Cossack Cavalry Division finally managed to stabilize its position, create distance, and begin deploying cavalry artillery.

"Don't be afraid! The Demanians on the other side just rushed here too. They're also on a forced march, so they can't possibly be carrying heavy artillery! Cavalry guns are more mobile than infantry guns. Hold your ground, find cover, and wait for the artillery to fire first before the cavalry charges!" Cavalry officers at all levels shouted hoarsely as they gave their orders.

However, just when the 12th Cossack Cavalry Division thought they had weathered this crisis, the Demanians on the other side gave them no chance to catch their breath.

"The enemy cavalry division has only suffered so few casualties and they've already opened up? Hmm, they must be trying to deploy their cavalry artillery! Don't give them the chance, the whole army, charge forward! Light machine gun teams provide fire support, grenade launcher teams follow the submachine gun squads!"

After Colonel von Bock clearly saw the enemy's movements through his binoculars, he also issued targeted orders in response to their moves.

Thousands of assault troops armed with submachine guns charged toward the enemy cavalry position.

The Cossack cavalrymen on the other side were immediately stunned.

They had fought so many battles and received so much cavalry training, and at most they had only ever seen infantry units setting up their guns and waiting for cavalry to charge, but they had never seen infantry actively charging cavalry.

The Cossack cavalrymen, also on horseback, returned fire with Mosin-Nagant rifles and relatively short-barreled single-shot carbines.

The dense array of MG15 light machine guns on the other side forced them to seek cover, scatter, and multitask, which greatly reduced the accuracy of their rifles.

While bolt-action rifles of this era generally had an effective range of over 800 meters, aiming became extremely difficult beyond 500 meters. Once distracted, or if the battlefield environment became complex and one was pinned down, hitting a target beyond 300 meters became impossible.

Scattered gunfire from the cavalry counterattacks occasionally felled charging assault troops. But the assault troops continued their fierce charge, completely disregarding the occasional fall of their comrades. The distance quickly closed to within 300 meters, and the assault troops began to spray bullets at the enemy with their submachine guns, even if it was completely inaccurate and had no lethality, just to scare and suppress the enemy.

Moreover, if a person is hit in a vital area by a submachine gun bullet from 300 meters away, it can still injure them.

The Cossack cavalry were overwhelmed by their overwhelming momentum, and the distance between the two sides in close combat was reduced to less than 200 meters. The time for the submachine gun to show its power had finally arrived.

"Rat-a-tat-tat~" Countless tongues of fire crisscrossed and swept the massive cavalrymen to the ground one by one. The entire charge lasted less than 10 minutes. The Lussa cavalry field guns had just been unloaded and the gun mounts hadn't even been fully deployed when the Demacians turned the battle into a melee.

"They've gone mad! These Demacians have gone mad! They've never used infantry to charge cavalry before!"

Some cavalrymen tried to maintain distance and deploy their artillery, but because they didn't retreat far enough, the infantry charged right up to them!
Where can we even go to seek justice?!

Under von Bock's relentless attack, the hastily reinforced 12th Cossack Cavalry Division was quickly routed.

Fortunately, the cavalry division did not suffer particularly heavy casualties, with only a little over 2000 killed or wounded. However, the cavalry guns they had just unloaded were quickly overtaken by the assault team, and the Lusa artillerymen were either shot or surrendered and captured.

The cavalry division had a total of 24 75mm field guns, almost all of which were captured by the assault troops. With all their field guns gone, the cavalry, now free of burdens, galloped back towards the Przemeshir fortress.

Von Bock was in high spirits after another great victory: "Immediately send a telegram to the rear. Our army has not only shattered the defenses of the 57th Division of the Russian Army, but also routed the cavalry division that came to reinforce us."

We are now deep enough behind enemy lines. Turn south immediately and cut off the railway! Encircle those three enemy divisions deployed along the railway!
After we finish this dumpling filling, we'll lead the main force to counterattack the Przemeshir Fortress!

-

P.S.: A long chapter of 6,000 words, more coming later. Today's total is still 10,000 words updated daily. Please continue to vote.

(End of this chapter)