"I hope that this time, we can defeat the Austro-Hungarian Empire in one stroke! Otherwise, the entire Southwestern Front will be finished," General Ivanov said, staring at the map.
The German military's offensive power was simply too formidable, forcing General Ivanov to resort to this desperate measure. He knew full well that if they kept defending blindly, they would only be picked apart by the German military bit by bit. Only by taking the initiative and defeating the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the shortest possible time could they have a sliver of hope. Yet such tactics were far too risky. If they failed to achieve their strategic objective, failure would be waiting for them.
After receiving General Ivanov's Telegram, General Ruszky, Commander of the Russian 3rd Army Corps; General Brusilov, Commander of the 8th Army Corps; and General Selyvanov, Commander of the 11th Army Corps, all felt their hearts grow heavy. As General Ivanov's old subordinates, they knew very well that unless the situation had reached a critical point, he would never have said such things.
"Order every unit to prepare for battle! At first light tomorrow, launch the attack. Before the sun sets, we must tear open the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Army's defensive line and crush them completely!" General Ruszky gave the order.
"Yes, General!" the corps and Division commanders of the Russian 3rd Army Corps answered in unison.
General Brusilov and General Selyvanov issued similar orders as well. They regarded tomorrow's offensive as the most important battle of all. It was a battle where success was permitted, but failure was not. Everyone understood clearly that failure would bring catastrophic consequences. The Russian military might very well be routed beyond recovery in this battle. As for them, the frontline commanders, their endings would not be much better.
On October 8, as