General Samsonov and other Russian generals looked at all this in stunned silence. German military's artillery fire ravaged the Russian artillery position as if it had eyes.
Cannons were overturned and blown up one after another, and each artillery piece was torn into pieces in the explosion.
"General, please order the withdrawal of the artillery. Otherwise, our artillery will be completely lost." Artilleryman Commander asked General Samsonov with red eyes.
General Samsonov nodded. Because the Russian army has a low literacy rate, artillery and other arms are undoubtedly extremely valuable arms. If it is wasted, it will be difficult to replenish it. Moreover, even if General Samsonov is not an artillery background, he can still understand that among the current Artillery Battle, the Russian artillery has been completely suppressed. German military's artillery is so powerful that it completely crushes the Russian artillery in terms of quantity and performance. In particular, there are many large-caliber heavy artillery in German artillerymen. These heavy artillery are undoubtedly the main force in destroying the Russian artillery positions. In this regard, the Russian artillery had no way to compete with it.
German military's bombardment lasted less than twenty minutes and ended. It was not that they wanted to save ammunition, but that the Russian artillery had withdrawn and was out of range, leaving them without a target and naturally unable to continue firing. Otherwise, it would be a waste of shells.
"François, if our artillery fires so fiercely, it won't scare Russians away, right? In that case, the result will be in vain." 20th Corps Commander Lieutenant General Mackensen was a little worried.
"Don't worry, Russians is not so easily scared. Even if they know our true strength, they will not give up easily. Because this is their only chance. If they miss this opportunity, they may never have such an opportunity again. Therefore, Russians will definitely hold on to the end. Until they have lost all their losses and can't see any hope." Lieutenant General François said.
Lieutenant General Mackensen nodded, agreeing with Lieutenant General François's point of view.
All along, the existence of East Prussia has posed a huge threat to Russia. Send troops from East Prussia, and it won't take long to defeat St. Petersburg. Therefore, Russians has always wanted to occupy East Prussia and eliminate this threat. And this war is undoubtedly Russia's last chance. If you miss this opportunity, Russia will never have such an opportunity again. Therefore, Russians will never give up easily.
On the other side, Russian 2nd Army Corps had to accept the reality that German military was very powerful and no longer dared to attack easily.
"Your Excellency Commander, the Germany people have obviously preserved their strength. Now, they have shown all their strength in Tannenberg. If we want to capture Tannenberg, it will be very difficult." said a Russian general.
"Judging from the powerful firepower of the Germany people, if we want to capture Tannenberg, we will probably lose everything. By then, it will be impossible to advance to Königsberg." Another Russian general also said.
"If Cossack cavalry launches a charge, can it break through the Germany people's defense?" General Samsonov was still a little unwilling.
"Your Excellency Commander, this is impossible. The Germany people have deployed a large number of machine guns on the defense line, as well as many small-caliber rapid-fire cannons. They must have concentrated all 8th Army Corps machine guns The enemy is here. Otherwise, there would be no such intensive machine gun fire. Under such intensive firepower, even if the heroic Cossack cavalry attacks, it will only lead to death," said a cavalry division commander.
The commanders of several other cavalry divisions also nodded quickly. If you let them attack a defensive line with such dense firepower, doesn't that mean they are going to die? Such a thing must never be done.
General Samsonov nodded and stopped forcing it.
"Order the troops to move to full-scale defense. In addition, immediately report the situation we encountered to Warsaw and request further instructions." General Samsonov ordered.
Under such circumstances, he couldn't make up his mind as to what to do next. If you attack, you will definitely suffer heavy losses, and you may not be able to capture Tannenberg. But if you retreat, you will miss a good opportunity. This also made him very unwilling. Therefore, we can only let the future commander Ivan? Gylinski who is far away from Warsaw make the choice. Who let him be Commander of the Northwestern Front Army!
Warsaw, Russian Northwestern Front Army command. Ivan? Gylinski The general's brows knitted together tightly, as if he had encountered some difficulty.
After receiving the Telegram from the 2 Army Group Commander General Samsonov, he sat silently for almost half an hour without saying a word.
"Damn Germany people, they must have been deliberately showing weakness before. Then they lured 2nd Army Corps* to Tannenberg, wanting to eat our 2nd Army Corps in one bite E, and then turn around to deal with 1st Army Corps. Huh, what a good plan!" Ivan? Gylinski snorted. However, perhaps even he didn't notice that his back was already wet with sweat.
Because, Ivan? Gylinski knows very well that if German military's plan succeeds, then the Russian army will not only be unable to defeat German military and capture East Prussia, but will instead fall into a great crisis.
Ivan? Gylinski even subconsciously wanted to give an order immediately to make 2nd Army Corps retreat immediately. However, he immediately rejected this approach. Because this opportunity is really rare. German military's main force in the east is too small, it can be said to be the smallest in history. Once German military mobilizes its main forces from the Western Front to support the Eastern Front, the Russian army will never have such an opportunity again. Therefore, this opportunity is very rare and cannot be let go easily.
General Ivan? Gylinski thought carefully for a while before making a decision.
"Command 2nd Army Corps to continue the fierce attack on Tannenberg. In addition, send Telegram to 1st Army Corps and tell them that the main force of German military has been defeated by 2nd Army Corps breaks through, they speed up and capture Königsberg as soon as possible, and then together with 2nd Army Corps, they attack German military's main force!" Gylinski ordered.
Ivan? Gylinski is obviously planning to take advantage of it. When the main force of German 8th Army Corps is gathering at Tannenberg, the one defending Russian 1st Army Corps is obviously not the main force. Then, they can use 2nd Army Corps as bait and make 1st Army Corps the main force of this attack. As long as 1st Army Corps can capture Königsberg, then cooperate with 2nd Army Corps to attack the main force of German military. Then, victory will still belong to Russia!