Iron Cross Fire

On April 15, Kemal took a special car to the Caucasus region, and his troops would take a few days to arrive.

Kust went to greet him in person, hoping to leave a good impression on him.

Seeing Kemal waiting on the platform, wearing the standard green military uniform of Turkey, the first impression he gave was that of a meticulous officer.

While admiring him, Kemal also noticed Kust and gestured to him.

Kust didn't waste any words, strode in front of him, the two looked at each other and saluted, and then shook hands with a smile.

After a few polite words, Kust invited him to get in the car and chat slowly after arriving at the headquarters.

Kemal gladly accepted it. He was originally very curious about this prestigious general, and also wanted to know why the German emperor often talked about him.

Now he understood as soon as they met. Kust's unique personality charm was very shocking. He could scare timid people without saying anything, which made Kemal, who was also a senior general, very envious.

But he didn't want to get it. After all, there were more than a dozen scars on Kuster's body. The bullet holes of various sizes were still on his skin after years of weathering, and there were several places that were obviously bombed, which were even more terrifying.

After establishing the first impression, Kemal retracted his gaze. Humming a few songs on the endless avenue as a ray of comfort during the arduous journey.

The road is long, rugged and winding, steep and dangerous, making it difficult to see where the road is; it can be said to be short, and it arrived in just twenty minutes. Their car broke down on the way, but fortunately they brought a repairman.

The two got off the car and walked into the command center talking and laughing.

Looking at the various maps of various sizes, Kuster sighed, and then pulled Kemal to sit down.

At present, Kemal's large troops have not arrived yet. It will take four days for the armed train to pull them over, and it will take a long time to reorganize the troops. Moreover, the Turkish army is in chaos, and the soldiers will definitely desert in various forms.

So now Kemal can only be a military adviser, but this is also what Kuster wants: let him see how he fights and open his eyes.

Kuster turned out the actions of the previous four months, sighed a few words, and then handed it to Kemal.

He also told Kemal bluntly: "All the military actions I am doing now are paving the way for my political goals."

At this time, the young Kemal saw his bold offensive plan and perfect response strategy. He was already very inspired when he heard this.

"Although war is despised by people, it must be said that war is indeed very helpful to power, or it is completely tied to power."

Kemal repeatedly chewed the report written by Kuster on a piece of paper, and seemed to understand something.

Although he was a little excited, Kemal suppressed the waves in his heart and did not show any emotion on the outside.

Seeing him like this, Kuster stopped showing off his achievements and instead discussed the war with him seriously.

He told Kemal about the current situation:

The east is very peaceful. The Turkish army has withdrawn to the Transcaucasus, but the Russian army has not yet completely occupied the entire northern Caucasus.

Since the capture of Tbilisi, the west has gradually started fighting. From April 12 to today, the Turkish army has continuously launched offensives, but has not made much progress due to the complex terrain.

The central part is the most lively, and the two sides are constantly exchanging views here. The Allied forces had previously captured Tbilisi and advanced more than 100 kilometers to the west. The whole process was overwhelming and there was no resistance at all.

Most of the foreign officers (German and Austrian officers) were too excited and wanted to fight forward, but Kuster stopped them. He knew that this was a trick of Russia and that they had withdrawn their troops behind the mountain.

Kust believed that except for the Russian army in the east, most of the Russian troops could not pose a threat. At this time, rash advancement would undoubtedly cause a lot of unnecessary losses, which would make Russia's war loss ratio less ugly, and would also add obstacles to subsequent actions.

So he simply stopped all actions, waiting for the Russian army to re-adjust its troops, and then find a breakthrough again, tear open the Russian defense, and completely paralyze their command system in the Caucasus.

As for whether Russia would adjust its troops, Kuster didn't care at all, it was the same to him.

If they didn't adjust, then the situation in the Caucasus would always be superior in the east and inferior in the west. As long as Turkey bombed them like sowing seeds every day, the Russian army would always be forced to withdraw to a thicker place due to pressure.

The only person who could put pressure on the Allied forces was Kaiser Wilhelm II. Unlike the politicians who were leisurely and elegant, he urged Kuster to hurry up every day to add glory to his face.

Kuster sneered at this, but for someone who didn't particularly understand politics, it was already polite, so Kuster didn't point out his mistakes directly, but treated them as if he didn't see them.

Kemal felt very novel about Kuster's plan, which could put the enemy in a dilemma with only very simple means, and there was not much loss, which made Kemal respect Kuster more and more.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Kuster talked about his strategic situation.

His current tactical strategy can be summed up in one word: delay.

This word has many aspects, not only delaying the war, but also delaying the top leaders.

It was not until Kemal's troops arrived that Kuster planned to launch an attack.

The battlefield changed rapidly, and it would take 4 days for the troops to arrive. It was difficult to determine what the Russian army would do during this period.

Originally, Kust planned to wait until then to come up with a new strategy, but Kemal's arrival forced him to do it in advance, otherwise it would damage his prestige among the younger generation.

Kust made three preparations for this:

If the Russian army's deployment has not changed from the current one, or has changed slightly, then he should launch an offensive in the west and use artillery shells to smash a gap.

At the same time, he should guard against the Greater Caucasus Mountains in the north to prevent the Russian army from attacking them from the side and organize new troops to garrison the mountains. It is necessary to ensure control of the mountains and completely control the peaks. It will be more advantageous to be high above.

If the Russian army makes large-scale adjustments and makes the troops on the entire front almost the same, then there is no need to talk too much nonsense and directly concentrate superior forces to seize Georgia.

After the front line is pushed to the Greater Caucasus Mountains, the main force will be placed on both sides of the mountain, which is relatively flat and the attack will naturally be much easier than elsewhere.

If the Russian army adjusts and their commander is a normal person, then the Russian army in the Greater Caucasus Mountains must be the least, after all, there is the protection of the mountains and no need to pay much attention.

There must be the most defenders on both sides of the mountain, and it is undoubtedly the most difficult to break through there.

The war will definitely become tense, and the Allied forces can only send small forces to infiltrate the mountains, thereby indefinitely prolonging the war and greatly undermining Kuster's reputation.

So Kuster strongly opposed the third situation, and for this reason he even gave the Russian army a chance to breathe, just to make them mistakenly believe that the Allied forces were insufficient.

At the same time, he also inquired about the criminal record of the newly appointed Russian commander, and after confirming that he had not done much, he consulted his friends in the Austro-Hungarian Empire about the internal affairs of the empire.

His original supporter, Wiltok, led a group of politicians to publicize his achievements everywhere, which sounded good, but more people supported Wiltok, not him.

A friend explained:

"God should be supported the most, but Jesus, who spread the gospel, makes people feel unusually close, so people only have a kind of awe for God, but have infinite expectations and support for Jesus."

This is easy to understand, just like in a political class, the political teacher keeps talking about how good XXism is and what is missing. But the more I listened, the further I felt that XXism was from what I imagined. Instead, I felt that the political teacher was a good person, humorous and witty.

My friend also said that when Kuster was sent to Turkey, it was Wiltok who made the suggestion.

After thanking him, Kuster was a little angry, but it was useless. He was too popular, and all the benefits were taken away by others.

But Kuster remembered this grudge. He waited for the right time to get rid of Wiltok, the traitor.

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