Lviv is an important city in western Ukraine. Since Russia declared war on France and joined the war, it has become the command center of the Russian Western Front. According to the order issued here, 200,000 Russian troops launched a fierce attack on Rzeszow, an important town in southern Poland. Rheszow was stationed by hundreds of thousands of troops from Poland and Prussia. They were no match for the 200,000 Russian troops at all. Under the fierce attack of the Russian army, Rzeszow was broken by the Russian army after only a few days of persistence. . Although, the Russian Western Front began to attack Poland in depth. However, the 3rd and 4th Divisions of the French 88th Corps, which arrived later, successfully contained the Russian attack and drove all the Russian troops back to Ukraine, bringing the front to a stalemate again.

On May 4th, France dispatched the main force of the 1st Iberian Army, the 2nd Iberian Army and the 3rd Iberian Army, with a total of more than 200,000 people, temporarily organized as the Iberian Army, and implemented the "right uppercut" plan . The French army crossed the border in Hungary and entered Romania. The Russian army was caught off guard and could not stop the French army's attack at all. In less than a week, the entire land west of the Alpathians and north of the Southern Alpathians was completely occupied by the French army. Subsequently, the French army crossed the Alpathians from the Bistrica area and attacked Ukraine northward.

As the entire Ukrainian army gathered on the western border to fight against the French army, the Iberian Army entered no man's land, crossed the Drest River, crossed the Podil Heights, and invaded the hinterland of Ukraine. Refers to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and formed an encirclement of the Russian Western Front with the army in southern Poland. This news shocked the whole of Ukraine, and it also shocked the whole of Russia.

There is no doubt that if Russia fails to make a correct response in a short period of time and fails to send troops to support Ukraine in time, then Ukraine will be occupied by the French army. In addition to retreating, the Russian Western Front will also be wiped out.

"General, the French army has occupied the Khmelnytsky area, and our retreat has been completely cut off." A corps commander under the Western Front said nervously.

"General, the French army on the opposite side has also made changes. It seems that they are preparing for a new offensive. I think we will face the two-sided attack of hundreds of thousands of French troops." Another legion commander said.

"Generals, be quiet. I have already reported the information to Marshal Kutuzov, and the marshal will send troops to support us." General Yukovsky, commander of the Russian Western Front, said.

"General, it is said that Marshal Kutuzov has returned to Moscow to report on his duties. It takes at least half a month to go back and forth from Moscow, but God knows when the French army will launch an attack?" A lieutenant general named Vladimir said. Said.

"Then what do you think we should do now? Retreat? The French army is to the west, the French occupation is to the south, the Iberian Army of the French army is to the east, and the Pripet Swamp is to the north. Where can we retreat? What? So, staying here and waiting for help is our best choice at the moment." Admiral Yukovsky explained.

The five army chiefs didn't refute any more. They were not fools, and they also knew that Yukovsky's method was the only feasible method at present. Of course, if they can abandon those troops, they can retreat from the Pripet Swamp. Although the Pripet Swamp cannot allow large troops to pass, it can still allow small troops to pass through smoothly. It's just that in that case, what awaits them will be a ruthless trial by a military court.

The smooth attack of the Iberian Army Group greatly exceeded the expectations of everyone including Xiao Jie, so that they did not prepare the corresponding battle plan in time. When you understand it, it already means a waste of time. At the same time, controversy arose over the next attack target of the Iberian Army. Some people advocated that the Iberian Army should cooperate with the southern Polish army to attack the Russian Western Front Army and annihilate this elite Russian Front Army. Others came up with bolder plans. They proposed that the Iberian Army should continue to march northward, capture Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and then march on Moscow, taking advantage of the fact that Russia's forces are currently empty, capturing Moscow and ending the war completely.

Both options have pros and cons. Attacking the Russian Western Front can completely solve Russia's threat to southern Poland, and at the same time pave the way for a larger-scale counterattack. However, this also means that the opportunity to end the war at an early date is lost. Once Russia reacts, it will be difficult for the French army to have the opportunity to threaten Moscow so smoothly. But if you choose to march to Kiev, you will also face many problems. The first is the issue of logistical supplies. Due to the overstretched front, the logistical supply line of the Iberian Front Army is already very fragile. Once the logistical supply line is cut off, it will bring disaster to the Iberian Army. Someone suggested that airships could be used to provide logistical support to the Iberian Army, but what a huge number the daily consumption of more than 200,000 people is. All kinds of combat materials, including ammunition, will take up 70% of the Air Force's resources. At the same time, it is a big taboo for military strategists to go deep alone. Once the Russian army reacts, the Iberian Army will fall into a tight siege.

After careful consideration, Xiao Jie still chose to attack the Russian Western Front Army and eliminate the Russian army's vital forces first. However, this time is already May 20. The panicked Russian government has rushed the Russian Southern Front in eastern Ukraine to attack westward. The order they received was to stop the French attack no matter what, and they could not be allowed to capture Kiev or continue to attack westward.

Tsar Nicholas and Kutuzov were worried that the French army would continue to march towards Moscow. In that case, they had almost no better way than another emergency transfer like 20 years ago.

"Your Majesty, the Southern Front has already been dispatched, and they will arrive in Kiev within four days." Kutuzov reported to Nikolai.

"If the Iberian Army of the French Army attacks Kiev, can the defenders last for 4 days?" Nikolai asked.

Kutuzov shook his head. Kiev only had less than 30,000 second-line troops, and it was impossible to withstand the attack of more than 200,000 elite French troops. Resisting the French attack for 4 days is simply an unrealistic delusion.

"It seems that we have to organize an army to defend Moscow!" Nicholas said helplessly. He no longer has the pride that he had when he declared war on France at the beginning. A series of victories by the French army completely stunned the Russian army. Not only did not achieve the expected results, but was invaded by others into the hinterland of the country. Nicholas felt quite ashamed. Everything was the fault of the Austrians. If they could persist for a while, the war situation would not have developed into what it is now. The Southwest Front Army was annihilated in Austria, which made Nicholas very angry. This anger was also transferred to Emperor Francis I of Austria who fled to Russia. For so many days, Nicholas has refused to meet Francis, and Russian officials have been quite rude to the Austrians.

"Your Majesty, our current military strength is very empty. The newly recruited 900,000 troops are undergoing training in the Ural region, and within three to four months, they will not be able to form combat effectiveness at all." Kutuzov said with a bitter face.

"What about the second-line troops? How many can we gather in a short period of time?" Nicholas asked.

"The distribution of the second-line troops is very scattered. Within a week, we can gather about 100,000 people at most." Kutuzov asked.

"That's how it is. Immediately order the second-line troops to gather in Moscow, together with Moscow's defenders, they should be able to stop the French army for a period of time. During this time, the Southern Front Army should also be able to arrive." Nicholas sighed Said in one breath.

Kutuzov nodded and went to give orders.

Two days later, Kutuzov received Nicholas with a beaming face. "Your Majesty, the news just came back from the front. The French Iberian Front did not continue to march towards Kiev, but turned around and marched towards western Ukraine~lightnovelpub.net~ It seems that they are preparing to pinch the Western Front. In this case , The threat from Moscow has been lifted, but the Western Front is somewhat dangerous." Kutuzov reported.

"What? The Iberian Front of the French Army didn't continue to march north?" Nicholas burst into ecstasy, as if he didn't care about the life and death of the 200,000 people in the Western Front.

"Your Majesty, what should we do now? The Western Front Army will obviously not be the opponent of the French Army's hundreds of thousands of troops. If they stick to it, they may be wiped out like the Southwest Front Army, but if they retreat, there is no way to retreat. Therefore, In my opinion, we should order the Southern Front Army to continue marching westward at an accelerated speed to relieve the Western Front Army. At the same time, we should order the Western Front Army to defend Lvov until they are rescued by the Southern Front Army, and must not retreat without authorization," Kutuzov said in a deep voice. Said. Because if the Western Front forces retreat, it is likely to be defeated by the pursuit of the French army. In this case, not only will the Western Front Army suffer heavy losses, but it may also affect the Southern Front Army.

Nicholas had no other good solution, so he nodded and agreed to Kutuzov's suggestion, and issued stern orders to the Southern Front and Western Front respectively. Order the southern front army to speed up the march, attack the French Iberian army from the east, and break up the French army's encirclement of the western front army. The Western Front was ordered to stick to Lviv and not to retreat without authorization, otherwise all officers would be court-martialed.