Struggle in Russia

Kornilov quickly made the decision to stay on the southern front to stabilize the situation and eliminate the rebels in the south as much as possible!

As for the plan to capture Zogtonosa proposed by Li Xiao and Dmitri, he thought it was best to postpone it.

Of course, he did not do nothing. He still sent the fleet north. Although he could not help Kiev to relieve the siege, it was still helpful to scare the rebels and stabilize the people of Kiev.

As for himself, he led the main force to try to fight one or two annihilation battles on the southern front, with his goals directed at Krivoy Rog and Donetsk.

The two cities were like two arms of the rebels, one inserted into Kornilov's left wing and the other cut off his right wing.

Recovering these two cities will open up connections with Elizavetagrad (now Kirovograd), Lugansk and the Russian army in the Rostov region, and connect the entire southern Ukraine as a whole.

Among them, there are about 30,000 rebels in Krivoy Rog, while more than 20,000 rebels are active in Donetsk.

After some discussion among the staff, it was felt that it would be ideal to attack Donetsk first. First of all, the number of rebels here is small, and the Russian garrison strength in the directions of Lugansk and Rostov is relatively sufficient, which can effectively support their operations.

However, this plan was rejected by Kornilov, who believed that it would be more ideal to attack Krivoy Rog first.

The reason is also very simple. Although there are more enemies in this direction, most of them are broken troops that were disabled in the two battles of Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk.

These rebels have low morale and have been beaten. They have no strong will to resist, so it is relatively easy to deal with them.

The rebels in Donetsk are different. They have not suffered a blow and have high morale. It is not easy to defeat them.

The most important thing is that when Kornilov was in Nikolayev, he heard that the Russian garrison in Moldavia had received orders from St. Petersburg and was preparing to return to Ukraine to participate in counter-insurgency. About 10,000 to 20,000 people could be mobilized there. people.

Their route of action was probably to first reach Nikolayev and Odessa by water, and then advance north.

In other words, attacking Krivoy Rog is very likely to receive assistance from friendly forces!

Soon Kornilov attacked eastward and headed straight for Krivoy Rog. His actions were so decisive that the local rebels had no reaction. They waited for the Russian army to knock down the door before hastily organizing defenses.

Almost exactly as Kornilov expected, the local rebels dispersed and fled north in a hurry after making a token resistance. The Russian army recaptured Krivoy Rog with almost no effort.

At this time, according to the original plan, Kornilov should return to wipe out the rebels in Donetsk, but at this juncture, the situation on the battlefield changed again!

The rebels in Kamenskoye, as well as the rebels in Alexandria and Cherkasy suddenly mobilized collectively and headed towards Elizavetagrad.

The three rebels and the rebels who joined Krivoy Rog who was defeated by Kornilov, a total of 100,000 people, have great intentions of overwhelming Elizavetagrad.

At this time, there were only more than 10,000 defenders in Elizavetagrad, and most of them were broken troops who collapsed and fled from various places.

The mayor of the city, Shemen Pinchuk, simply abandoned the city and fled, leaving the entire city to Lieutenant Colonel Rodelkin, the commander of the 157th Infantry Regiment.

Rodelkin was very distressed. He was just a small regiment leader, with only more than 2,000 people under his command. The huge Elizabethgrad with a population of more than 100,000 people was handed over to him. Do you think he was under a lot of pressure?

He also thought about escaping. After all, he had all the bad cards in his hands. In name, there were more than 10,000 troops around the city, but most of them were broken troops. These guys were undisciplined and cowardly. Don't follow instructions.

If he had not acted decisively and shot several leading soldiers, I am afraid that there would have been no need for rebels to attack Elizavetagrad, and it would have been looted by the Russian army first.

What's worse is that there are also problems with the supply of various materials in the city. After all, the Ukrainian rebellion happened to be during the autumn harvest, and the food was not harvested at all.

When the world is in chaos, even if you try to collect food, you won't be able to collect it. People will eat horse chews and sit around eating the mountains every day while watching the warehouses become empty.

If we don't find a way quickly, everyone in Elizavetagrad will be hungry in less than ten days, and by then the angry people will tear him apart without the rebels fighting.

The reason why he didn't run away was because he had some conscience and fear.

He is actually a native of Elizavetagrad Oblast. He was born and raised here and still has feelings for his hometown. His home is here, and he can't bear to see his beautiful home burned to the ground.

He had seen too much of the horrors of rebellion in other states, and it was truly too terrible to watch. Moreover, death orders have been issued from above to resolutely shoot all soldiers, including officers, who take the lead in escaping!

He was worried that if he ran away, he would only be able to hide for a while. He and his family had little money, so it was impossible for him to flee abroad with his family like Shemen Pinchuk.

In other words, if you stick to the city and fight to the death, you can at least gain a good reputation and avoid harm to your family. If he escapes, he may be liquidated in the future and his family will be affected.

He gritted his teeth and persisted. On the one hand, he tried every means to rectify the broken troops and maintain normal order. On the other hand, he also frantically called for help, hoping that Nikolaev, Odessa or Kherson could send big shots to come and rescue him. He rescued him from dire straits.

However, the situation was not ideal. Nikolayev directly told him that there was nothing he could do to help, and Kherson and Odessa never responded.

Anyway, looking at the rebels approaching day by day, Rodelkin felt bitter and resentful. His hair fell out in handfuls. His thick black hair had the trend of the Mediterranean in just three days.

Just when he thought he was dead, Kornilov came with his troops. To be honest, when he saw Kornilov, his eyes filled with tears, and the man like an iron tower burst into tears.

Kornilov did not expect Elizavetagrad's situation to be so bad, but he was impressed by Rotelkin's performance.

It is very rare for a small regiment leader to be able to withstand the huge pressure and not escape. He also maintained the operation of the city as much as possible, and even organized a breakup to repair some fortifications.

Although these are done carelessly, the symbolism is greater than the substance, but it is really rare to have such a heart.

"Send the military police out to maintain order, and gather all the broken troops. I want to reorganize them. What does it look like to be in such chaos and do their own thing!"

After Kornilov came up, he immediately went all out and solved Rodelkin's thorny problems one by one...