Iron Cross Fire

On April 13, while the Russian army was hit hard, Kuster reorganized the Allied forces.

There were a total of 240,000 people in the entire Caucasus, including about 160,000 Turkish troops and 40,000 German and Austrian troops.

He put the Turks together as the main filling division of the front line; Germany and Austria each had their own command system as important breakthrough forces.

The Russians had 280,000 people in this area, but 80,000 were surrounded. If they were not rescued, the original advantage of the Russian army would instantly turn into a disadvantage.

Kuster took this into consideration, so he deployed the German and Austrian coalition forces here, waiting for the Russian army to attack.

As long as they dared to attack, the situation of the Allies in the Caucasus would improve. The elite German and Austrian troops would beat the Russians to the point of not being able to find the north, and then quickly launch a counterattack to recapture Georgia.

But after careful consideration, I felt that this plan was not perfect. The quality of the Turkish army was worrying and it was difficult to cooperate with friendly actions. In addition, the Russian army deployed a considerable number of troops on the Eastern Front, and it was impossible to advance.

After careful consideration, he decided to abandon the area north of the Caucasus, concentrate the main force in the Transcaucasus, and let the allied forces in the west and central parts launch a joint attack to seize the Georgia region.

Although it is difficult to cross over again after giving up, the Turkish army can no longer withstand the pressure of the Russian army. Sooner or later, they will have to withdraw. Being more decisive can at least buy some time.

Previous experience made Kuster understand that the Germans should not be underestimated. They can do what ordinary people can't do, so they will be the core combat power of the Allies.

The order Kuster gave to the four division commanders was very simple, that is, to let them stay behind and wait for the order to be issued before attacking.

But this was not enough to convince the crowd. The Germans were all hot-blooded men, and naturally they were unwilling to sit back and watch the front line fight.

Fortunately, the Russians were very disappointing. They launched an attack that night, and after close contact with the Austrians, they soon failed.

These Russian troops came to rescue the besieged friendly forces. They were not very willing to do so. After seeing the enemy's solid defense, they just fired a few shots and regarded it as a war.

The speed was so fast that Kuster didn't react. His mind was still on how to organize defense, and the Russians retreated.

The Germans who were clearing the encirclement behind heard that the Russian army retreated, and hurriedly asked Kuster for his consent.

Kuster had doubts, but there was nothing to say, so he acquiesced to their attack.

To be on the safe side, he ordered the Turkish army in the center to cooperate with the German army and attack the flat area to the west.

Seeing that the Allies dared to attack, the Russians no longer retreated, but instead used the mountains and positions to persist in resisting.

After the reconnaissance teams of both sides met, they exchanged opinions one after another and fought happily.

Feeling threatened by each other, both sides quickly sent their main forces, which gradually evolved into a protracted and arduous battle.

In order to control the troops well, Kuster personally went to the front line to operate and command affairs.

The winding and steep hillsides were covered with barbed wire, and the complex and rugged narrow mountains could only advance in small scales, and every step forward resulted in deaths.

Facing such a harsh environment, what did Kuster plan to do?

He had no plan at all. He thought that only fools would take the mountain road, and normal people would take the main road.

So with the normal thinking, he quietly withdrew the German army and armored forces and sent them to the central part, where the terrain was quite flat and not as abnormal as here.

As for the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, Kuster adopted the pigeon tactic, that is, to drag it hard. If the Russians don't attack, we won't attack either; if the Russians dare to attack, they will die, and without the cover of the mountains, they will be drowned by artillery shells.

While the troops were secretly turning around, Kuster confirmed that the Russian troops on the Lesser Caucasus Mountains did not dare to attack, so he asked the garrison to fire a few rounds of artillery every day, and then followed the troops to the central part.

The terrain of the central region is completely different from that of the two sides. As the barrier between the Greater and Lesser Caucasus Mountains, it is quite flat here, and the garrison also acts as a pioneer. Every battle must focus on attacking here.

Looking at Tbilisi in the distance, several bunkers stand on high ground, facing a huge army composed of infantry and tanks. The sporadic sound of gunfire could not shake the will of the soldiers, and their steps to climb the mountain remained firm, firmly establishing their legend.

The flying shells tore the sky apart like lightning, and the grenades that hit the Russian positions shook the earth, and the anger of the Germans poured into Tbilisi.

After a round of orderly bombing, the soldiers lined up and attacked the hillside together.

Dense black spots suddenly appeared on the hillside and continued to spread upward.

The Russian troops on the mountain were shocked. After the bombing, their morale had already declined. After seeing so many German troops at this moment, they abandoned their positions and gradually retreated.

But how far can they retreat? Tbilisi is on the mountain. As long as it is captured, the Russians will face an attack larger than this.

At that time, there is no need for the coalition forces to take action, and these fleeing Russians will be shot by their angry superiors.

But at this time, the Russian army was already scared silly. After using up all the bullets, they retreated backwards. It looked like he would bite anyone who obstructed his retreat.

Due to the weak will of the Russians, Tbilisi soon returned to the hands of the Allies.

But this was not enough. The Allied forces continued to advance westward, occupying large areas along the way.

This was undoubtedly extremely fatal to Russia. The central defense line was completely destroyed. Next, they could only trade lives for time.

In order to save Georgia, the Russian army retreated and eventually ran to a more rugged area, where they re-established the defense line.

This time the armored forces finally failed to catch up with them, not because the tanks had problems, but because the Russians retreated more than 100 kilometers directly. The tanks were not adequately supplied during the march and had to stop and wait.

It was incredible that the Russian army retreated so far at once, but there was nothing they could do. There were mountains 10 kilometers away from Tbilisi, but they were caught up by the pursuing troops and had no time to recover. The mountain defense line was naturally broken, and it didn't even play a role.

And this was extremely fatal. After the defense line was broken, it was difficult to rebuild the defense line dozens of kilometers to the west.

When the Russian high-level officials learned about it, the battle had been over for a long time, and the coalition forces had advanced 50 kilometers. If it was a little later, they would have seen God.

They had to urgently withdraw the Russian troops in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the west to support the defeated army and establish a defense line. The battle for the Allies to retake Tbilisi ended. They won a great victory and replaced Tbilisi with relatively few casualties.

The Russian army could only attribute this mistake to insufficient reserves, or the fact that there were no reserves at all, and they played no role in the battle.

But in fact, the real weakness of the Russian army lies in the extremely weak will of its army.

Take this battle as an example. The Tbilisi garrison did not want to fight after being bombed several times. When the reserve met the retreating friendly forces, they knew that something was wrong and retreated with them.

Such an army is undoubtedly a failure, but compared to the failed army, the person who created this army seems to be the real failure.

So the Tsarist Russia is destined to be replaced, and the one who replaces it must improve the failed politics, otherwise Russia will fall into endless civil strife.

Kuster is very far-sighted. He knew that the Tsarist Russia would perish, especially the army with such poor combat effectiveness, which confirmed his idea.

But he also knew that the regime that replaced the Tsarist Russia did make Russia great again.

So for his future interests, he must try his best to stop this regime, and even be an enemy of it.

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