Iron Cross Fire

On May 18, the Russian troops in Kiev were getting fewer and fewer.

The German-Austrian coalition forces were keenly aware of this and accelerated their offensive, wanting to take Kiev as soon as possible.

If they could put their minds at ease and pay close attention to the enemy's movements, they would have a chance to trap all the Russians in Kiev.

Unfortunately, the Germans no longer looked at the Russians in the right light. Apart from bombing the positions with artillery, they had no other precautions.

In the evening of the same day, the Austro-Hungarian army successfully captured Kiev. The soldiers reveled all night, and the officers also sent congratulatory messages to various places.

One of the victory telegrams was sent to Kust, who was curious about how they took it down, but did not reveal it directly. Instead, he said that his army had surrounded part of the Russian troops in Ukraine, and the Austro-Hungarian main force could take the opportunity to launch another attack.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire did not listen to his advice and continued to make a fuss in Kiev and insult the local Russians.

It lasted until noon the next day, when the Germans discovered that they had not completely surrounded the Russian troops around Kiev. There was a huge gap in the east, and many people ran away from there.

They quickly forwarded the news to Austria-Hungary, hoping to get an explanation.

The Austro-Hungarian high-level officials did not know why there was a gap in the east, but they did not care about it. They gathered all the troops and continued to launch the attack.

However, the soldiers had no intention of fighting anymore. When they heard that they were going to the battlefield, they ran as far as they could, although they were finally caught.

The officers realized that this situation was very unfavorable and wanted to correct this problem, but it was useless. The order required them to launch the attack immediately without giving them any rest time.

In desperation, the Austro-Hungarian army slowly began to gather, spreading its forces across the entire front, and slowly concentrating its forces in some important areas.

The original plan was to launch the attack on the afternoon of May 19, but seeing that the soldiers had no intention of fighting, they did not know what Kemal was doing in the east and where the reinforcements had gone, so they finally decided to launch the attack on the 20th.

In order to ensure that the action was foolproof, the Austro-Hungarian high-level officials personally confirmed with Kuster and guaranteed that they would participate in the battle.

However, it doesn't matter if you don't ask. This question makes you realize that Kuster and his men didn't put the main force of the attack on Ukraine, which instantly made the Austro-Hungarian high-level explode, but considering that they still need his help, they have to swallow this breath.

Fortunately, they have obtained Kemal's consent and will force the Dnieper River when they launch the attack, forming a real east-west pincer attack.

The German-Austrian-Turkish coalition began to adjust its forces. The front line was mainly filled by the Austrian army, and the nearly 400-kilometer-long plot in the west was under its responsibility.

The German army in the north was the main breakthrough force, and its 70,000 troops would be the first shot in the battle.

The Dnieper River area in the east was handed over to the Turkish army led by Kemal, responsible for delaying the Russian army's actions and cooperating with the Allied attack.

The warring parties waited hard, but the Allied forces were waiting for the opportunity, while the Russian army was waiting to die.

On May 20, the first gunshot rang in the north of Ukraine.

Unexpectedly, it was not the German army that launched the attack, but the Russians on the opposite side.

Although the attack was quickly crushed and the officers died on the battlefield, the Germans still looked at it with admiration.

After simply dealing with the bodies of the Russian soldiers, they marched south.

Austria-Hungary was shocked to hear the gunfire in the north and realized that the time had come. The 600,000-strong army attacked the remaining areas of Ukraine from multiple directions.

The remaining Russian army was only 70,000 people. They were unable to resist such a fierce attack and could only retreat again and again. In the end, except for the defense line in the Dnieper River area, there were only the fleeing Russians on the steppe.

The other two sides fought very lively, but the east was still as peaceful and peaceful as ever. Except for firing a few thousand shells every day, Kemal no longer carried out any military operations.

First, he paid attention to Crimea. Nearly 80,000 of the 130,000 troops were fighting in Crimea. Seeing that Crimea was about to be taken, although there were requests for alliances at this time, no troops would be dispatched to help.

Second, he was unwilling to go to Ukraine. After all, even if he conquered Ukraine, it would not belong to Turkey, so why spend more troops for it.

Moreover, Kuster asked him not to make a big move, just fire a few shots to fool the Austrians. In the future, when Austria-Hungary investigates, all the responsibilities will be borne by Kuster.

With the guarantee from his superiors, Kemal naturally could not send even one person there, and continued to fight his Crimea with peace of mind.

However, even though the Turkish army has been trying to let go, the Russians are really not up to the task, and their morale almost collapsed after a few rounds of artillery.

Kemal only let 200 people launch a tentative attack, attacking a bridgehead with more than 1,600 Russian troops stationed.

With such a large difference in numbers, it stands to reason that the Turkish army must not win, but no one expected that without firing a single shot, those Russians would stretch out their hands and walk out of the trenches.

But even so, many Russians were still killed. The reason was not that the Turks were of low quality, but that their appearance was too scary. They were pale and thin, with bones protruding all over their bodies, just like ghosts. Anyone would be scared.

After meeting several Russian prisoners of war, Kemal knew the general problems within the Russian army, but he did not pursue the victory. Instead, he transferred his findings to the two allies, letting them take the opportunity to attack, while he continued to attack Crimea.

After the Russian army's problems were reported to the German-Austrian coalition, they believed that the Turkish army had already fought hundreds of kilometers deep into Ukraine, otherwise it would be impossible to get such detailed information.

So they were full of confidence and ordered the reserve to march to the Dnieper River - that was the last place that the Russian army in Ukraine could hold.

However, they did not march there normally, but took the train there. They thought the flank of the Dnieper River was very safe.

As a result, they were ambushed halfway and got off the train and joined the Russians.

Afterwards, they learned that the Turkish army had not launched an attack at all. Just when they wanted to pass the intelligence to their superiors, they found that the radio facilities were damaged.

Having lost the ability to communicate, they could only hold on to the plains and wait for reinforcements.

Fortunately, this reserve team had the size of two divisions, so it was not a problem to hold on for three or four days.

The battle lasted until May 22, when bursts of noise came from afar, breaking through the sky and reaching the Russian army that was still attacking, killing a lot of people.

The Austrian commander who ate dirt all day was very excited when he heard the noise, but the sound did not come from the rear, which scared him again.

But when he looked into the distance, he saw countless rafts and boats on the other side of the river, with the Turkish flag hanging on them.

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