"General, the Germans' firepower is too powerful. They have too many machine guns and small-caliber rapid-fire guns. Our cavalry simply cannot get anywhere near their defensive line, let alone break through it." The commander of a Cossack Cavalry Division reported to General Samsonov with an ashen face. Watching his troops be slaughtered by the Germans' overwhelming firepower, it felt as though his heart were bleeding.
General Samsonov's face was gray with despair. It was as if someone had pulled the bones from his body, and all spirit drained from him at once.
The other Russian generals were no different. Their retreat had been cut off by the German military, while powerful German forces were attacking from the front. This time, even with wings, they would find it hard to fly free.
"General, the Germans are too powerful. Defeating them is simply impossible. We should break out separately. That way, perhaps there will still be a sliver of hope," one of the generals suggested.
Indeed, the Germans had made it clear that they intended to annihilate them all. If they remained together, not one of them would escape. Breaking out in separate directions meant that whoever could escape, escaped. That would at least raise their chances of surviving.
General Samsonov was no fool. He knew what these generals meant: have the main force draw the Germans' attention, then lead small elite units to break out through the gaps. That would undoubtedly give them a strong chance of escaping alive. So long as they could get out, even losing every last soldier would be worth it. Russia lacked everything but people. If the troops were wiped out, they could simply conscript the peasants.
Of course, as far as General Samsonov himself was concerned, if he had to trade the lives of the