Iron Cross Fire

On March 19, after gathering superior forces, the Russian Caucasus Front attacked the Turkish army below the mountain from a high position.

The Turkish army, which had no advantage in anything, could not hold back for long. They were quickly defeated and retreated to slightly flatter ground.

This is a wrong decision. Here, the Russian army will undoubtedly advance faster.

Fortunately, Kuster transported the troops on both wings back through the transportation network in time, and began to form a trap against the Russian army.

In fact, the organization of these newly transported troops is very low and requires a certain amount of time to reorganize. During this period, it is difficult for them to form any deterrent.

However, the Russians were still afraid of the Turkish troops on both sides, and quickly mobilized some troops to return for reinforcements.

The war is getting increasingly tense, but that doesn't mean the commanders on both sides are helpless.

North of the Caucasus, inside the Russian military headquarters. Their commander thought of a more conservative plan:

As the main attack, the central Russian army advanced about 90 kilometers southward, where is Tbilisi, the transportation hub of the Caucasus.

After capturing it, advance a few kilometers further to occupy the steep Lesser Caucasus Mountains. Then use this as a stronghold to prepare for the next round of attack.

Of course, the Russian army cannot ignore the threats on both wings, even if they are not yet able to attack.

After a series of arguments, the top Russian military leaders finally decided to give priority to occupying Georgia. The Turkish army there is relatively fragile, and the terrain is more complicated than in the east. After capturing this place, it can carry out effective defense.

As for how to defend, the Russian army believes that it should focus on the connection between the Lesser Caucasus and the Greater Caucasus Mountains. According to Russian estimates, it is at least 100 kilometers from Tbilisi to the city in the Greater Caucasus Mountains, and they must deploy heavy troops here.

In that way, the western front is about 200 kilometers long, which mainly relies on the Lesser Caucasus Mountains and the Eastern Black Sea Mountains for defense; the middle line is 100 kilometers, where there are no obstacles and they can only rely on their own construction of fortifications; the eastern front is 300 kilometers long, and the Turkish army is here The deployed troops are the largest on the entire front, but the Russian army can rely on the Greater Caucasus Mountains for defense and only needs to pay attention to the flatter areas in the east.

In the Turkish headquarters in the southern Caucasus, Kuster is also planning how to respond to the Russian attack.

The difference is that Kuster has monopoly in the Caucasus, where he has the highest authority. The military power of the Russian army is relatively decentralized, and each unit fights independently; their senior officials cannot give precise command and can only give suggestions.

Therefore, when it comes to decision-making, the Turkish army will seem very relaxed and does not need to spend much time.

Just like the order for strategic retreat, it was Kuster who gave it. This order had been circulated throughout the troops as early as last night.

He was worried that while fighting in the center, the Russian army would send cavalry to move quickly to the east.

It is the only flat place in the Caucasus. Once a mobile force sneaks up here, it will put the entire Turkish army at risk of being surrounded.

Fortunately, the Russians had not learned Kuster's techniques, so they would not radically order cavalry to raid the enemy's depths.

After ensuring that the Russian army would not advance rashly, Kuster had a bold idea.

He decided to abandon Tbilisi, an important city in the Caucasus. After all, he still had Baku, a more important place.

The Turkish troops in the entire central and western parts of the country were ordered to retreat back and establish a defensive line on the Lesser Caucasus Mountains.

This would undoubtedly abandon most of Georgia, but at the moment the forces were concentrated on the eastern front, and the remaining two fronts were not strong enough to fight the Russians. To preserve their strength, they had to retreat.

However, these Turkish troops were required to stick to the Little Caucasus Mountains and not give up a piece of mountain land to the Russian army. They must always attack the enemy on the highlands.

In order to appease them, Kuster wrote in the order: "We must stop the enemy at the top of the mountain. This may be difficult, but don't worry, Tsarist Russia cannot defeat us even if it is overdrafted for three years."

After making preparations for defense, Kuster once again placed his strategic focus on the plains on the eastern front.

Baku was the center of the battle and a strategic location for the Allies.

When it was captured by the Turkish army a few days ago, it transported a large amount of oil to the Allies through Asia Minor. Therefore, the German and Austrian emperor who had benefited asked him never to give up that, even without any reinforcements.

Therefore, Kuster must focus on protecting Baku, and then launch a series of offensives.

Fortunately, the Russians are far from enough to threaten Baku. They transferred a large number of troops to the Georgia area, but the defense in this area was empty. This was undoubtedly an attempt to capture Georgia.

Kuster temporarily changed his order and asked the western Turkish army to establish a defense line from Poti on the Black Sea coast to Kutaisi, 85 kilometers to the east, in an attempt to control the transportation network and slow down the Russian army's advance.

At the same time, he planned to let a small group of troops try to break through the flat area north of Baku, threaten the Russian right wing and contain some of the troops.

He also noted the importance of occupying high ground. Start letting small groups of elite troops penetrate into the Greater Caucasus Mountains and try to conquer them to gain greater local advantage.

The troops sent included those commanded by his eldest son Vasalai. For this reason, he also gave his handwritten military paper "On the Essence of Mobile Warfare - Lightning and Depth" to Vasa as a family heirloom.

Of course, this kind of thing that is mainly used in strategy cannot affect the current life and death of Vasalai. Therefore, he personally told Vassalai how to skillfully command the infantry squad's operations and how to adjust them. They even told him the complex and sophisticated C3I tactics so that he would notice the importance of intelligence and control.

As for why Kuster was so anxious, it was mainly because he was worried that the impact of the Gallipoli Campaign was so great that even he would be interfered with.

At that time, the entire Allied Powers had to send reinforcements to Istanbul to ensure that Turkey would not withdraw from the war.

He did not believe that Turkey could withstand the pressure of the Allied Forces' attack, and its internal affairs might become extremely chaotic. Therefore, he had to get rid of the threat of the Russian army in the Caucasus as soon as possible, until they became harmless to people and animals.

During this period, Kuster could only command one battle after another with trepidation and could not interfere in other affairs.

The Caucasus Turkish army came quickly and was defeated quickly. Finally, on March 22, the Turks abandoned Tbilisi and retreated to the Lesser Caucasus Mountains on a large scale.

Only 40,000 troops were left in the Poti-Kutaisi area to defend central Georgia. But this could not last long, not to mention that their right wing was gradually leaking out under the fierce attack of the Russians.

However, the Turkish army still had 220,000 soldiers in the east. They defended the vast plains and put considerable pressure on the Russian troops moving south.

But these Turkish troops did not dare to attack the Russian troops on the flanks, after all, there were still many Russian troops on the Greater Caucasus Mountains. As long as they attacked the Russian troops on the left wing, the Russian troops on the Caucasus Mountains in the north would move south and attack their flanks.

Therefore, they could not try any risky actions, otherwise they would be at risk of collapse; they could only wait and see, find loopholes in the Russians, and then defeat the enemy with one move.

The war became complicated, and the Russian offensive gradually slowed down.

Now, both sides began to consolidate fortifications and wait for the next large-scale exchange of fire.

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