Chapter 331 Desperate Attack (2500 votes plus more)

"I hope this time, we can defeat the Austro-Hungarian Empire in one fell swoop! Otherwise, the entire Southwest Front Army will be finished." Admiral Ivanov said, staring at the map.

The attack power of the German army was so strong that Admiral Ivanov had to make such a bad move. He knows very well that if he blindly defends, he will only be solved bit by bit by the German army in the end. Only when they take the initiative to attack and defeat the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the shortest time, can they have a chance. However, such a tactic is too risky. Once the strategic goals are not fulfilled, what awaits them is failure.

General Rusky, Commander of the 3rd Army of the Russian Army, General Bruschinov, Commander of the 8th Army, and General Serivanov, Commander of the 11th Army, received a letter from General Ivanov After the telegram, the mood also became quite heavy. As the old subordinates of General Ivanov, they knew very well that if the situation was not critical, General Ivanov would definitely not say such a thing.

"Order all the ministries to prepare for battle! Tomorrow morning at dawn, launch an attack. Before the sun goes down, we must tear through the defense lines of the Austro-Hungarian Army and completely defeat them!" Admiral Ruski issued an order.

"Yes, General." The commanders and division commanders of the Russian Third Army replied one after another.

Generals Brushinov and Selivanov also issued similar orders. They all regard tomorrow's attack as the most important battle. It can be said that it is a battle where only success is allowed and failure is not allowed. Everyone knows very well that if it fails, the consequences will be disastrous. The Russian army is very likely to lose in this battle. And the frontline commanders like them will not end well.

On October 8, just after dawn, the Russian army's position was already busy. Soldiers were queuing for breakfast, and quartermasters were distributing ammunition. Of course, the food of the Russian army is undoubtedly the worst among the armies of the great powers. Two potatoes and a piece of hard black bread are their breakfast. As for milk and meat, they are absolutely invisible, unless you are an officer, otherwise you can only eat such a breakfast.

On the artillery positions of the Russian army, 76.2mm field guns were also pushed out. The artillerymen are moving the artillery shells to the position, making preparations before firing. Although these 76.2mm field guns are weak and have a short range, they are the only cannons that the Russian army can rely on.

In the Austrian army position opposite the Russian army, the soldiers also got up early and got ready for battle under the urging of the officer. Of course, the fear on the faces of many Austrian soldiers has not dissipated. Obviously, it was because of the psychological shadow after being defeated by the Russian army before.

Compared with the Russian army, the morale of the Austrian army is low. However, their weapons and equipment are much better than the Russian army. The number of machine guns is also more than that of the Russian army. As for the cannon, let alone. The heavy artillery of the Skoda factory is famous all over the world. The Austrian army is not only equipped with 75mm caliber field guns, but also equipped with a lot of 105mm light howitzers, and even 150mm heavy howitzers. In terms of the number of artillery alone, although it is not as good as the German army, it is also much stronger than the Russian army.

Last night, Marshal Herzendorf, Chief of the Austrian General Staff, personally summoned General Pom Elmoli, Commander of the 2nd Austrian Army, General Borojevich, Commander of the 3rd Army, and General Borojevic, Commander of the 4th Army. General Danker, commander of the army group. They are required to find ways to resist the Russian army's attack in today's battle, and they must not let the Russian army break through their defense line.

In view of the three armies, the combat effectiveness is strong or weak. Marshal Herzendorf, Baron, specifically requested the stronger 2nd Army and 3rd Army as the main forces. The 4th Army, which has weaker combat effectiveness, serves as a reserve force. Although, this will make the troops on the defensive line one-third less than the offensive Russian army. However, when fighting, the defensive side has to take advantage of it. Especially if you have strong firepower, you can use fortifications and strong firepower to cause greater damage to the enemy. The attacking party will often pay a greater price.

The Austrian 4th Army was mostly composed of Czechs, Slovaks and Slavic soldiers. Their morale is low, their actions are slow, their training is lax, and their combat effectiveness is low. If this group army were to go to the front line, Marshal Herzendorf was really worried that they would collapse under the fierce attack of the Russian army. Let the 4th Army serve as a reserve team, and let them send troops to fill in the event of a dangerous situation on the defense line. In this case, it is relatively safe.

Qin Tian didn't raise any objection to Baron Herzendorf's arrangement. Although, in this battle, Baron Marshal Herzendorf stated that he would fully support him. However, he could not dictate the command of the Austrian army because of this. Otherwise, it will inevitably cause displeasure on the Austrian side. After all, even if you are an ally, there are some bottom lines that cannot be touched.

On the other hand, Qin Tian didn't know much about the Austrian Army either. It would be much better for Marshal Herzendorf, the Chief of Staff of the Austrian Army, to deploy than him, a layman.

Although, the combat effectiveness of the Austrian army is very bad. But Qin Tian believes that if they defend with all their strength, they should still be able to withstand the attack of the Russian army.

"Fire!"

At 8 o'clock in the morning, the three Russian armies launched an attack on the Austrian defense line on the 200-kilometer defense line. Thousands of cannons began a fierce shelling. The Russian army attempted to use violent shelling to disintegrate the fighting spirit of the Austrian army and prepare for the next battle.

It's just that the Russian army's shelling had just begun, and it was counterattacked by the Austrian army. Although the Austrian army only deployed two group armies on the front line, with more than 600,000 people. The strength is only equivalent to two-thirds of the Russian army. However, the number of their artillery is not less than that of the Russian army. Quantitatively, the two sides are evenly matched. However, in terms of the caliber and performance of the artillery, it is the Austrian army that has the upper hand. In terms of the quality of artillery, the two sides can be described as evenly matched. It's just that the morale of the Austrian army is a little weaker.

Therefore, after the artillery battle between the two sides started, it was actually evenly matched. Under the strict orders of the Austrian army officers, the Austrian artillery could even use their own large-caliber heavy artillery to launch a suppressive attack on the Russian artillery positions, causing greater losses to the Russian artillery.