Struggle in Russia

The brutal battle continued. Kurudon continued to order the troops to charge, constantly impacting Kulontsov's defense line. Although the Russian army was still able to withstand it, it had gradually fallen into a disadvantage.

At first, the rebels would be dispersed by artillery fire as soon as they reached a distance of six to seven hundred meters in front of the Russian position, but now they can reach a distance of one to two hundred meters and shoot at the Russian army.

Although it still failed to cause too much trouble to the Russian army, it is annoying to kill people!

The fierce fighting continued, and by 3:30 in the afternoon, the Russian army finally couldn't hold on anymore, and many areas of the front line were occupied by the swarming rebels. The entire front showed signs of collapse.

However, Kulontsov did not panic, but launched a countercharge in an orderly manner, temporarily restraining the rebels from breaking through in depth.

It wasn't until the rebel troops surged up that he ordered the remaining front-line troops to retreat while fighting.

At this time, in accordance with his orders in the morning, deep positions were being deployed and workers were working overtime. Ordinary soldiers were frantically digging trenches and foxholes with hoes and shovels, while elite engineers were carefully building key support points.

At least two or three six-pounders were placed at each strong point. Although this lightweight field gun is low in power, it is easy to control and easy to set up. What's more, for the rebels with crude weapons, the lethality of the six-pounder gun was enough.

Each artillery position was carefully arranged to ensure that there were no blind spots for shooting. As long as the rebels rushed over, they would be caught in a crossfire net. Moreover, in order to support each support point, Kulontsov also set up a mortar support team. Once a support point fell under siege by the rebels, the mortars would immediately go to support, striving to kill the enemy with maximum firepower.

The only problem was that time was tight. It was too tight to have to face the rebel attack and repair the position in one morning.

That is to say, the quality of Kulontsov's soldiers is good enough. If he were replaced by another Russian general, he might not be able to do anything well.

By four o'clock in the afternoon, the frontline positions had been completely occupied by the rebels, and Kulentsov's soldiers could only retreat to the second line of defense.

To be honest, this line of defense is a bit passable. There are few fortifications and the trenches are not long enough. It can be said to be very crude. At least it's incomparable to the first line of defense.

But there is nothing that can be done. After all, Kulentsov's time is limited. It is rare enough that he can repair the first line of defense and rush to build the second line of defense.

"If the rebels continue to attack, this line of defense will not last long."

Kulentsov glanced at Li Xiao and nodded silently. According to his original plan, the first line of defense should be able to last longer, and he could even defeat the rebels at the first line of defense.

It's just that the ferocity of the rebels exceeded his expectations. The rebels have lost nearly 4,000 people from morning to now. Logically, they should have collapsed long ago, but these people are still like locusts that can't be killed. It's completely unnecessary. Life style.

Kulentsov is no stranger to this violent and crushing style of play, because many Russian generals follow this approach. It's just that none of them did as well as Kuludong. If the Russian army lost three to four thousand people a day, the troops would have collapsed. There is no need to let the soldiers continue to rush up without fear of death.

But it's different here in Kuludong. His soldiers are like emotionless robots. They don't care about the death or injury of their comrades, they just charge mechanically again and again, as if the dead are not their own.

This made Kulentsov unable to withstand it. After all, the defensive strategy he deployed was for ordinary situations, and he was really caught off guard when facing this special situation.

Of course, this does not mean that he has nothing to do. As the leader of a division, he has encountered various situations on the battlefield. It is not that he has never fought opponents who did not follow the routine. Kuludong is not the best. The one that surprised him!

Now he has several options, either to re-engage with his troops to countercharge and kill the opponent's momentum, or to retreat decisively and continue to buy time for the third line of defense to take shape.

After pondering over and over again, he chose the latter. It was not that a counterattack was not possible, but that the loss might be greater. Every soldier he had now was very important and could not be lost easily.

As for whether the third line of defense could withstand the impact of Kuludong, he still had some confidence in his soldiers. However, just when he was about to order a retreat, Li Xiao suddenly spoke: "Your Excellency, I still have some troops here. A cavalry battalion, I think we can get them to attack!”

It was clear to Kulontsov that Li Xiao had brought a cavalry battalion over. He knew that this battalion was probably a talisman assigned by Dmitri to Grand Duke Andrei, and was used to save the Grand Duke's life at critical moments.

It stands to reason that this battalion will never be used unless absolutely necessary, but Li Xiao just took it out without any care. Is it because the Grand Duke is too straightforward and doesn't understand the meaning?

Li Xiao continued: "At the moment, cavalry attack is the best way. Their impact is exactly what we need. We must buy time!"

Kulentsov understood now. It was not that someone did not understand, but that someone knew that time was too precious now. Buying time was buying time for him as well as buying time for Dmitri. As long as we can hold on and ensure that Dmitry encircles and annihilates Odonrich, any effort will be worth it.

On the other hand, even if this cavalry battalion can cover their escape, from an overall perspective, it will still be a complete mess and they will lose everything!

Li Xiao naturally knew what was important and what was less important, so he decisively suggested to Kulentsov that he commit a cavalry battalion to counterattack.

Kulentsov thought about it for a few minutes and readily agreed. Since His Excellency the Grand Duke is not afraid of death, what should he be afraid of? To put it another way, even if the situation really got bad, he wouldn't be able to gather a few horses and men to cover His Excellency's retreat?

However, Kulentsov's impression of Li Xiao was really not very good, because other grand dukes or dukes would probably not have helped him in a similar situation.

No matter what, he must accept Li Xiao's favor!

After the cavalry battalion launched a counterattack, the effect was indeed good, giving full play to the impact and mobility of the cavalry.

Although there were only a few hundred men in a battalion, the damage caused to the rebels was greater than that of thousands of infantry.

Under the cover of the cavalry battalion, the 27th Infantry Division finally regained its position. Until 5 p.m., the rebels were unable to make a big impact on the second line of defense.

The precious hour they gained gave the 27th Infantry Division a chance to breathe. If nothing else, as the sun sets, Kuludong should have no choice but to stop the attack and wait for dawn.

"Boss, what should I do?"

Kuludong's face was very ugly. He was almost able to defeat his opponent, but the cavalry interfered with his good intentions. If we withdraw our troops at this time, wouldn't all the day's work be in vain?

But what if we continue to fight?

He glanced at his troops and fell into deep thought...