Chapter 589: Drinking Horses by the White Sea

January 14, 1916, on the shore of the White Sea.

Kirinenko rode his horse across the road and passed by the supply convoy that had just been captured.

"General, here are some Proshen cigarettes. Would you like one?" The soldier who was distributing the supplies shouted loudly.

Kirinenko smiled and said, "You guys share them. I can't get used to their cigarettes. I still feel more excited when I roll my own!"

He took out a cigarette rolled with newspaper from his pocket and put it in his mouth, and continued to ride forward.

His adjutant shouted to the soldiers, "Don't just take cigarettes, alcohol and food. We have to distribute the ammunition. We still have to continue to fight in the enemy's depth."

"Got it!"

Kirinenko's cavalry troops have been "generally mechanized". They are all equipped with Proshen's submachine guns and grenades, just for the convenience of replenishment.

As for food, the local villagers took out all their family assets, and some even gave all the grass stored in their homes to the troops. Seeing that the cattle and sheep would not survive this winter, they simply slaughtered them to reward the troops.

With the support of the villagers and the enemy's "supply", Kirinenko's troops fought for seven days and became "fatter" with each fight.

After Kirinenko crossed the road, he climbed up the small hill beside the road, and his vision suddenly became clear.

The sparkling White Sea expanded from under his eyelids to the horizon.

Kirinenko: "White Sea! I never thought that one day I would be so excited to see the White Sea."

The adjutant echoed: "Yes, before the war, I had the opportunity to go on vacation by the White Sea, but then I didn't choose the White Sea, but went to the villa area in the mountains."

Kirinenko smiled: "Me too, I chose to go to Lake Baikal to fish for white salmon."

After that, the two were silent and looked at the White Sea together.

Kirinenko's mount seemed bored, swaying back and forth.

At this time, the messenger rode up the hillside, saluted and reported: "General, the Fifth Cavalry Division of the Guards captured an artillery regiment with 21 cm heavy artillery, and asked what to do."

Kirienko: "We can't take the heavy artillery with us. Tell them to put explosives into the gun barrels and blow them all up. Detonate the ammunition as well, and try to make a big firework, so that the nearby Prosen people can see it!"

"Yes." The messenger saluted again, turned his horse's head and ran down the mountain quickly.

Kirinenko sent the messenger down the mountain and looked at the White Sea again: "A week ago, I thought that Rokosov's approach of letting us infiltrate was inappropriate. Now it seems that my view at that time was really wrong. The difference between Rokosov and me is that I didn't expect the local villagers to give us such great support.

"It is obvious that the local church organization has been almost destroyed by the Proson gendarmerie and the Imperial Household Ministry. Most of the remaining parish priests have been arrested and hanged. The bodies of some parish priests are still hanging on the old trees at the entrance of the village.

"However, they still support us without hesitation, risking being beheaded by the Proson gendarmerie.

"Rokosov had expected this a long time ago, he expected it! He once told me and Kashukh that in Loktov, he was in danger and it was the local militia who made great sacrifices to rescue him. He said that the villagers have great power!

"I didn't care at the time, but now I finally understand that he was right!"

Kirinenko stopped, took a deep breath, looked at the White Sea in front of him, and repeated again: "He is right."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of horse hooves came from behind him. Kirinenko turned around and saw several cavalrymen in the uniforms of the Melania People's Army running up the high ground.

The leading major general saluted Kirinenko: "The First Cavalry Division of the Melania People's Army reports to you."

Kirinenko saluted in return: "Did you encounter any problems on the road? Haven't the local villagers seen your uniforms and regarded you as the vassal army of Proson?"

The major general said in poor Ant language: "They haven't seen our flag, but when they saw the red flag, they thought Rokossov was coming."

Kirinenko looked up and looked at the red-bottomed "big white goose" flag of the Melania people and laughed.

Major General Melania looked at the White Sea: "Is your hometown Khazaria?"

Kirienko shook his head: "No, I am a fellow countryman of Patriarch Belinsky, and I like Chanaki stew the most.

"But I once lived in Roniezh for a while, and I could see the White Sea from the window of my dormitory. There was also a flagpole outside my dormitory, and flags were raised every day to wish the ships a safe journey. "

Melania sighed: "It's great that you are back by the White Sea again. My hometown is in Pomerania, and I grew up watching the waves of the Baltic Sea.

"There is a section of my way home from school that is by the sea. I like to take off my shoes, walk in the shallow water, and catch some hermit crabs."

Kirienko looked at Melania and said, "You will return home, you will! We will fight with you. We will start from the Sukhayaveli River, from the river to the ocean, and Melania will be free!"

"Thank you for your words! I think Rokossov Davarish also said this?"

"Yes, I stole it from him." Kirinenko laughed, "The general pretends to be an unlearned dandy, but he is actually very talented and often says such memorable words."

"General Rokossov may be the greatest military strategist of our time, right? Fortunately, he is on our side."

As soon as Melania finished speaking, Kirinenko waved his hand and said, "If you say this in front of Rokossov, he will tell you that the current situation is not his credit. He will say that history chose him."

"Did history choose him? The general is such a humble man."

After the words fell, silence suddenly fell.

Only the waves of the White Sea are still echoing continuously, as if there is a never-ending throbbing in everyone's chest.

————

On January 15, General Shipling looked at the remains of the 21-centimeter heavy artillery that had just been towed back by a trailer.

"So, Rokossov's cavalry has arrived at the White Sea? Damn it, where did they get the ability to continue fighting?" Shipling asked.

Chief of Staff: "It seems that the local people took out the stored forage and winter grain to entertain them. The gendarmerie troops are punishing the local people who support them, but the results are not great, and they themselves were attacked by cavalry and suffered heavy losses."

"Locals! You want to tell me that the locals have provided enough forage and food to supply more than 100,000 cavalry? And this is after we have already requisitioned food?" Shipling asked.

Chief of Staff: "Yeah, it looks like the locals have hidden a lot of things."

"Damn it, I knew these guys were dishonest! We should let the Imperial Household Ministry and the military police arrest them all and send them to the gallows!"

After a brief pause, Shipling sighed: "But it's useless to talk about this now. We will be 'recovered' soon. How is the counterattack going?"

Chief of Staff: “We were not able to retake Plinka, but the counterattack was successful in some of the same villages that were lost yesterday.

"We recaptured fifty-five percent of the positions we lost yesterday."

Shipling: "Very good, very good. Just like this, we are constantly fighting with Rokossov's troops to buy time for retreat."

Just as he was talking, a motorcycle drove over. The captain on the motorcycle jumped off the motorcycle before it stopped, walked quickly to the chief of staff, and whispered a few words.

Shipling: "What's going on?"

Chief of Staff: "Yakovlevo is lost, Akhtka reports that Ant's army has been found."

Shipling pursed his lips and said after a brief silence: "It seems that the positions we regained during our counterattack are not equal to the newly lost positions today. How many troops does Rokossov have? Why are his troops everywhere? "

————

"We formed an arc in front of the Eleventh Army." Pavlov took a map stick and drew a circle on the map. "This is a smaller version of the offensive launched by General Gorky last October. We will The attack will be launched on the entire arc, and follow-up echelons will be deployed wherever a breakthrough is made.”

Wang Zhong: "It is a pity that the battle line is not long enough and the density of the enemy is still too high."

Pavlov: “The attack on Plinka has proved that the combat effectiveness of the Eleventh Army’s troops has not been restored. Judging from the composition of the prisoners, they have many new recruits, and the combat backbone lost in the past six months has not been replenished.

“If we attack later and wait for their injured backbone to return to the team, the situation may become complicated.

"In addition, by launching an offensive across the board like this, we can effectively target the enemy's counterattacks. Yesterday, their counterattack regained many positions, but today... today we are attacking across the entire arc. No matter which direction the enemy counterattacks, they will only It’s just a matter of regaining the lost position in one direction.”

Wang Zhong was very satisfied: "Very good, then how long do you estimate it will take to win Bolsk?"

Pavlov did some mental calculations and replied: "I originally thought it might take ten to fifteen days, but judging from the combat effectiveness of the Eleventh Army, seven days is about the same.

"They lack troops and equipment, and their previously superior combat experience no longer gives them a crushing advantage. Moreover...their fortifications are not as good as we imagined. Maybe they didn't expect us to counterattack so quickly."

Vasily immediately agreed: "Yes, I went to Plinka to take a look. All the reinforced concrete permanent fortifications were built by Duke Myshkin when he was stationed here. Our attacking troops have obtained detailed design drawings. , know their location accurately.

"There are basically no new permanent fortifications, and semi-permanent fortifications are more suitable for errands. Most of the fortifications are made of sandbags and cannot withstand B4's horizontal fire."

Popov: "Isn't it too ridiculous that the fortifications piled with sandbags can withstand B4's level fire?"

Vasily shrugged.

At this time, Lyudmila pushed the cart into the headquarters: "Everyone, it's time for midnight snack!"

Wang Zhong looked at her: "Didn't you just work at the Divine Arrow all day during the day?"

"It's a leisurely shift on duty." Lyudmila smiled, "And the midnight snack was not prepared by me, but by your chef Seris. He is so amazing, he can make a sumptuous midnight snack with such simple ingredients! "

Wang Zhong: "What kind of midnight snack?"

"A kind of lotus seed soup, very sweet. I think it can help everyone replenish the sugar consumed by mental work." Lyudmila said and opened the lid of the pot.

Wang Zhong smiled when he saw it, what about lotus seed soup? This is a common sugar water in the south of Seris: refreshing and cooling.

"Bring me a bowl and I'll try this weird lotus seed soup and see how it tastes!" he said.