Struggle in Russia

Is it effective to concentrate troops and focus on assault?

It was still of no use, because Kornilov did not continue to hold on to the original defense line, but instead shrank the defense line into the city. The original defense line only left a small number of troops relying on relatively solid fortifications as support points to delay the enemy.

It was not that he had foreseen that the rebels would change their tactics, but after three days of fierce fighting he found that it was impossible to hold the current position with the existing troops.

Continuing to stick to the original line of defense will only expose your own weaknesses, allowing your opponents to break through them at a glance.

Shrinking the front line to reduce the defensive area, and then relying on stronger fortifications to continue the stalemate with the opponent, was the only way he could think of.

Of course, this method is not sustainable. If the enemy still maintains the previous attack rhythm, he will soon be unable to withstand it and have to retreat again. Until there is no way to retreat, the entire army will be annihilated.

But who would have thought that the rebels themselves could not bear it and changed their tactics first. Although they concentrated their forces, the strike surface would inevitably become smaller, which allowed Kornilov to more calmly demolish the east wall to repair the west wall.

The rebels continued their fierce attack for two more days, but still failed to do anything to Kornilov. Instead, they further consumed their precious vitality. By this time, it was not easy for them to continue the offensive.

However, this does not mean that Elizabethgrad is safe. Although the rebels have stopped their onslaught, there are still small-scale attacks. Moreover, they have surrounded Elizabethgrad and have no intention of retreating.

At this time, the situation in the city was not too good. As mentioned before, there was a problem with the food reserves in Elizavetagrad. Although it was not that one meal was not enough, the feelings of both the Russian army and the people after being surrounded They were all a little panicked.

They couldn't help but worry about the possibility. What if the enemy continued to besiege them and couldn't leave?

The residents of Elizavetagrad had already tasted the horrors of the siege. They had been surrounded by rebel troops for three months before.

Although I survived with difficulty, it felt like having a sharp sword hanging over my head at all times, and I didn't know when the danger would come.

And what's different from the siege more than two months ago is that after the last consumption, most residents' food reserves were depleted. They don't have enough food to survive for another three months. !

"Don't worry too much!" Kornilov is more optimistic. "Our food is tight, and the rebels are even more nervous. According to my observation, they won't last long."

Yes, Kornilov was observing the three meals of the rebels outside the city every day. Although he could not see exactly what the rebels ate and whether the portions were large enough, he could tell by observing the spirit of the rebel soldiers on the battlefield. After analyzing the condition and the amount of smoke, he could basically draw a conclusion:

The rebels' food supply is extremely tight. They can only eat one meal a day at most, and the food supply is serious.

In such a situation, it is definitely the rebels who cannot hold out first, not them.

Of course, Kornilov was not negligent. He strengthened logistics management, put all food under the control of the military police, and eliminated all waste.

He even came to negotiate with the nobles and wealthy merchants in the city, and managed to get them to provide some food to the hungry people in the city.

With the two-pronged approach, the morale in Elizabethgrad was pretty good, at least no one died of hunger.

After doing everything he could, Kornilov could only slowly waste away the enemy. He didn't know when the rebels' morale would be exhausted, nor how long the rebels' food and grass could last. He just hoped. This day will come soon.

The reason why Kornilov was a little anxious came from his judgment of the battlefield situation. There is indeed no big problem here in Elizabethgrad, but that doesn’t mean that you can sit back and relax in other directions!

Whether it is Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye or around Krivoirog, there are still a lot of rebels.

The defenders in these cities are still relatively weak. Once a large number of rebels attack, it is hard to say whether they can hold on.

He brought out the only mobile force on the battlefield, which meant that once other cities were attacked, there was almost no force that could save them.

What's more, he is still eyeing Donetsk. If this rebel army develops south or west, it can directly threaten the Crimean Peninsula.

Now that he has almost depleted all the troops near the Crimean Peninsula, once something happens there, it will be great fun.

Now that he was sitting in a trapped city, he had no temper at all. He could only hope that there would be a force on the battlefield to break the balance.

This power to break the balance was really there. Five days later, a small group of Russian light cavalry appeared south of Elisabethgrad.

They belong to the 2nd Cavalry Division of the Russian Army in Moldavia and are cautiously searching northward.

Ten days ago, according to the reaction of some male nobles who fled Elizavetagrad, the city was being threatened by a large number of rebels. Major General Lidakov, commander of the 2nd Moldavia Cavalry Division, categorically ordered the troops to go north, preparing to win the first victory in the counter-insurgency campaign. A blood.

For these tough cavalry, the rebels did not take them seriously at all. In Lidakov's view, the rebels were just walking military medals. They would go wherever there were many rebels. They must not let these go. Credit!

Although he underestimated the enemy, his rapid advance still did Kornilov a big favor.

When this small cavalry advance team came into contact with the rebels and a one-sided battle broke out, the rebels' already low morale suddenly fell to the bottom.

"Retreat quickly! The black dog's cavalry are coming, they seem to be those Cossacks who eat people but don't spit out bones!"

Of course, we all know that Lidakov is not a Cossack, but to the serfs who have little knowledge, the Russian army on horseback is roughly equivalent to a Cossack.

The tradition of Cossacks' toughness and urban legends have always been the biggest shadow in the hearts of Russian serfs. They were sincerely afraid of these horse-riding bandits, so a small group of cavalry was transformed into tens of thousands of Cossacks by them without knowing what was going on.

Naturally, everyone hated their parents for having two legs. They no longer had the idea of ​​going to Elizavetagrad to catch the autumn wind, and fled north in a panic.

When this small group of cavalry entered Elisabethgrad, they realized that they were facing tens of thousands of rebels, which immediately made the cavalry captain leading the team break out in a cold sweat.

But these don't matter. For Kornilov, after saving Elisabethgrad and connecting with the Russian army in Moldavia, his operating space will be much larger, and many things will be done. It’s done!