Eventually Mannerheim appeared before the two, pulled a muddy map from his pocket and pointed at it.
"You guys will repel the enemies coming from the west. We'll take care of the east."
The commander himself had come to an extremely dangerous place just to give that single order. Mannerheim's actions, which were unusual for a Russian military officer, many of whom were aristocrats, were significant.
-- In difficult times, the commander himself is on the front lines, giving orders. The two men who receive these orders are deeply touched by Mannerheim's iron will.
On the other hand, the situation Mannerheim's army found itself in was so harsh that it had to go to such lengths.
**
The soldiers were a ragtag group of new recruits and stragglers, and there was little arms or ammunition. Retreat or surrender was not permitted... In this situation, Mannerheim turned his attention to a strategy proposed by Tukhachevsky.
"Our firepower is insufficient for a defensive battle. I think we should achieve defense through offense."
"A surprise attack?"
"Yes. It was a night attack using human wave tactics."
Tukhachevsky's plan was ingenious: instead of focusing the attack on artillery and machine gun fire, he used grenades for a close-quarters attack.
For something as simple as throwing a grenade, even a new recruit who was just an ordinary person yesterday could get a short training period, and the effect it brings is unrelated to the soldier's level of training. In the Imperial Russian Army, where it was mocked that guns were more valuable than soldiers' lives, it was a relatively cost-effective tactic.
"In a losing battle, you should pursue rationality, retreat quickly, and reduce losses as much as possible. However, if you think you can win, you should be completely irrational and persistent, ignoring the loss of soldiers."
Tukhachevsky's tactic was simple: he would arm his recruits with only grenades, and the lighter recruits would approach enemy positions under cover of darkness and launch close-quarters attacks using grenades repeatedly until they had destroyed the position.
Meanwhile, the veteran soldiers provide diversionary fire from the rear, supporting the wave attacks of the new recruits, and shoot anyone who deserts. When the enemy's resistance weakens, the veteran soldiers join the charge and advance, wiping out the enemy's stragglers while occupying the position. Naturally, there are a considerable number of casualties, but there is no choice but to completely ignore the human losses.
Because the Germans received artillery and air support, the Russians, with their weak firepower, had no chance of winning, so it was necessary to launch simultaneous assaults over as wide an area as possible and quickly seize positions while the enemy was confused.
could no longer bear the hunger and began to plunder food and supplies.
However, if they had to do this, they wouldn't be able to survive today, so they had no choice but to leave it alone, even though they knew it would give the enemy a chance to counterattack.
When the long-awaited order to retreat finally came, Mannerheim's corps, which had been four divisions strong, had been reduced to two.
The battle for position, with trenches being taken and retaken in the same way as on the Western Front, had bought valuable time for a counterattack, and so the higher-ups had finally given permission to retreat. I heard that intact divisions pulled from Eastern Europe were gathering in Petrograd one after another.
Considering the difference in military strength between the two sides, it can be said that Mannerheim's corps fought well. From the start, they made the most of their disposable sacrificial pieces and used delaying tactics to buy time. On an individual tactical level, it cannot be called a victory, but the accumulation of these efforts will lay the groundwork for the next operation, the decisive battle for the capital. The attrition of Mannerheim's corps undoubtedly played an important role on a strategic level.
(But can they really be proud of this victory? Even if they are just useless recruits, they have families and friends.)
Mannerheim cried in his heart.
The bloody battle was over, but winter was fast approaching, and Mannerheim retreated under the cloudy Russian skies.