Struggle in Russia

At this time, the enemies on the battlefield were divided into five major groups.

The strongest one is the rebel army in Kiev, with more than 300,000 people crowded around Kiev.

Then there are the other four regiments based in Konotop, Sumy, Poltava and Piliatin.

In terms of strength, these four regiments are almost the same, with each regiment having between 30,000 and 40,000 people.

It seems that no matter which one you play, it will be the same.

But that's not actually the case. Dmitry first eliminated Piyagin as a target.

Not only because we just hit a wall here, but mainly because the enemies in this area are closely connected and have formed a good atmosphere of cooperation between them. They reported to the group to keep warm and it was difficult to chew.

And the key thing is that this generation is too close to the rebels in Poltava and Cherkasy. Enemies may appear halfway to rescue them, and then they will be in a pot of uncooked rice.

In the same way, the enemies of Poltava and Sumy can only be eliminated. The distance is too long and the variables are too great. The most important thing is that the supply line is completely exposed under the eyes of the rebels, and it is easy for big problems to occur.

After much deliberation, it seems that only the enemies in Konotop are easier to deal with. First of all, it is not far from Chernihiv and Priluki. The logistics supply line is completely under the protection of your own people, so there is no need to worry about problems.

Secondly, there are many other Russian friendly units around Konotop, which can easily obtain support.

In the end, this group of enemies is already a bit frightened, and they are afraid of fighting with the Russian army. As long as they can decisively fight a few good battles in the early stage, they may collapse on their own!

Dmitry discussed this issue in detail with Li Xiao and his staff, and almost unanimously agreed to attack Konotop.

Of course, not right away. After all, the troops had just gone through two fierce battles and were very exhausted, so they had to rest first.

Necessary consultations are also needed with neighboring units. As the commander-in-chief of Ukrainian counter-insurgency, Dmitry believes that it is necessary to convene a large military conference to integrate the existing unified actions of the Russian army.

In fact, Dmitri had wanted to hold this meeting for a long time, but he had never been able to spare the time.

The reason is very simple. The situation in Ukraine was in a state of decay before. Facing the powerful offensive of the insurgents, the Russian army could only passively defend. At this time, it is simply unrealistic for front-line commanders to break away from command and hold meetings.

Therefore, Dmitri could only use the limited troops at hand to fight first. It was not until he made an emergency landing on Odonrich that the situation on the battlefield eased. Forced by Dmitri's toughness, the rebels did not dare to continue going north to harass other Russian troops, which finally gave these Russian troops a breather.

It's just that for these Russian troops, although Dmitry's series of offensive operations have achieved certain results, they are generally pessimistic about the prospects of counterinsurgency.

Let's put it this way, they have been frightened by the rebels and do not believe that they can defeat the rebels who still have hundreds of thousands of troops with such a small and limited force.

Therefore, they were not opposed to this military meeting, but opposed to offensive operations. In addition to complaining, they urgently hoped that St. Petersburg could dispatch more reinforcements. In their view, it was impossible to quell the rebellion simply by relying on the existing troops.

This is far from what Dmitri and Li Xiao expected. It can almost be said that the two sides can't piss in the same pot. If the situation on the battlefield didn't require them, Dmitri really wanted to remove all these people from their posts!

"They are afraid of being beaten by the rebels, and they are unwilling to take the initiative to attack. They only have no faults and just live with their merits. It is almost impossible to expect them to cooperate in countering the rebellion!"

Li Xiao agreed with this conclusion, so it would be difficult to expect these guys to cooperate well in regaining Konotop.

"Don't be in a hurry, take it step by step!" Li Xiao suggested: "First complete the reconnaissance of Konotop, figure out the enemy's troop configuration and defense situation, and then strengthen the reconnaissance of Mena, Krolevets and Vorozhba. The training of the Russian troops in the region will be carried out to restore their morale and fighting spirit as much as possible."

In fact, he still had one sentence that he had not finished, that is, he had to wait for news from Kornilov. Although the plan to regain Zogtonosa was ruined, if Kornilov could carry out some operations on the southern front, Working together can still help them disperse a lot of pressure.

So what exactly is going on with Kornilov?

After stabilizing the front lines in Dnipropetrovsk and Nikopol, Kornilov started a round of emergency training and brought all Russian troops on the north bank of the Dnieper River under unified command. After counting and gathering the defeated troops, Soldiers, he barely managed to carve out a mobile combat force of 15,000 people.

These troops are basically the naval infantry of the Black Sea Fleet. They are relatively strong in terms of equipment and morale. Kornilov's staff had a fierce argument over whether to go northward with the current or to fight a few more battles nearby to weaken the strength of the nearby rebels. .

Some people think that we should immediately go northward with the current, move closer to Kiev, and relieve Kiev.

Others believe that going north to Kiev is not an ideal combat plan. It is impossible to rescue Kiev with only 15,000 troops. It is better to stay there, whether it is to recapture Donetsk or Krivoy Rog. good.

The two opinions are equally matched and neither can convince the other. The former opinion believes that Kiev is of particularly important political significance and must not make any mistakes. Even if reinforcements cannot help Kiev to rescue the siege in the past, it can at least enhance the strength of the defenders, better consolidate the defense line, and prevent Kiev from making mistakes.

As for the work of relieving the siege, it can be completely left to Dmitri. After all, the Black Sea Fleet has limited strength and cannot do everything. In that case, what else will Dmitri, the commander-in-chief of counter-insurgency, do?

The latter opinion believes that this is purely a negative thought. Kiev is very important, but the fact that Kiev can persist for so long shows that the rebels will not be able to attack it for a while. Since such valuable mobile forces should be invested in more important operations, eliminate as many other rebels as possible on the outside and restore normal order in Ukraine as much as possible.

As long as rebellions in other parts of Ukraine are extinguished, what will happen to the rebels in Kiev?

They advocated that even if they wanted to go north, it would be best to get in touch with Dmitry's troops and coordinate operations to annihilate the rebels' effective strength as much as possible.

Kornilov knew very well that these two opinions actually represented two kinds of thinking. The former was a typical bureaucratic thinking. Keeping Kiev would prevent St. Petersburg from being unhappy, and naturally the official title would be secure.

As for the waste of precious mobile troops and how to put down this rebellion, they actually don't care. They only do things that are beneficial to themselves. They will never do anything that is risky but beneficial to the overall situation!

Kornilov hates this kind of thinking, at least he cannot agree with it. As a patriotic general, he is well aware of the responsibilities on his shoulders. He must not be passive in counterinsurgency work. Some things must be done even if they are risky!