Twenty-seven kilometers northwest of Thor Drive, Major Kleist, riding on a tall Hanoverian horse, frowned as he watched the slow movement of the friendly troops beside him.

According to the original plan, the 20th Division should arrive at Soldao last night to consolidate the defensive line, so as to ensure that the 12th Cavalry Division and the 3rd Reserve Infantry Division where they are located can smoothly pass through Soldao to the east of Soldao - the southwest line of Lake Masuri, so as to complete the purpose of cutting off the retreat of the Russian 3rd Army, forming an encirclement, and protecting the flank of the First Army that has penetrated all the way into Poland.

However, the 20th Infantry Division screwed things up.

The 20th Division, which had to come to a halt by the Russians, wasted 10 precious hours, and the 10 hours wasted clearly put the friendly forces that had previously broken into the Soldau in great danger. Otherwise, the command of the army group would not have given the order for the 12th Cavalry Division to throw off the 3rd Reserve Infantry Division and hold the Soldao at all costs.

As a cavalryman, a distance of 27 kilometers, even a normal march would take only 2 hours, and if the cavalry battalion under his command moved freely, Kleist was sure to reach Thor Dao within an hour.

The silver skull on Major Kleist's helmet indicates his identity, a hussar of the German Empire.

Although there were no pure cavalry divisions in the Imperial Army sequence at this time, the 12th Cavalry Division was no different. Of the three cavalry regiments, there was only one regiment of true light cavalry, and the other two regiments were essentially mounted infantry that were mobile and dismounted.

The cavalry units were no longer distinguished by hussars and dragoons, and the Imperial Army's clothing reform also abolished the hussars' original ornate attire and hats.

This made most of the light cavalry in the cavalry division reorganized from the original hussar unit very dissatisfied, and these troops, who were proud of their pure cavalry status, began to hang some hussar decorations on themselves in order to show their difference from those "dragoons", which affected the uniformity of the troops' clothing.

Finally, with the intervention of some cavalry veterans in the army, the Imperial light cavalry units were equipped with silver skulls on their helmets to distinguish them.

This move also allowed the hussars to continue to claim the title of hussars, and Kleist was proud of the skull badge on his head. This badge represents its own troops, which even now are the fastest mobile force in the Imperial Army.

However, the friendly forces beside him severely slowed down their march.

Due to the reform of the Imperial Army's cavalry divisions, the 12th Cavalry Division, like the ordinary infantry division, was also equipped with an independent divisional assault artillery battalion. Although the size of only four companies is only the standard of the army's first-line troops established in 1908, and the level of the army's second-line infantry divisions today, it is completely sufficient for the two regiments that are put on the offensive as infantry in actual combat.

These assault guns proved their great value in yesterday's battle, as the Germans broke through all three lines of defense of the Russian army in seven hours on the entire front, penetrating 11 kilometers of defensive depth.

Even if the 12th Cavalry Division had only two regiments directly involved in the attack, with the support of the division's assault gun battalion, the Russian defense line was at best a relatively thick piece of brown paper.

Therefore, these No. 2 assault guns received great praise from those "dragoons", but the performance of these No. 2 assault guns at this time was really worthy of such praise.

The speed at which these iron-clad fellows were moving was a real source of irritation for Kleist. These creatures, which claim to reach a maximum speed of 28 km/h, can only grind at 10 km/h in the grass on either side of the country road.

Ordinary infantry divisions may be quite satisfied with this speed, but as cavalry, this speed is too anxious. Moreover, these 13-ton iron wheels could not be allowed to drive on country roads, such dirt roads could not withstand such a waste, and the baggage units of the Imperial Army had already learned enough after the assault guns were installed.

Even now, in order to maintain the mobility of the cavalry, the divisional artillery regiments of the 12th Cavalry Division have all switched to trucks as tractors and transporters, and the mobility has been greatly improved, but if you really drive on the ploughed road, you will still have to curse. What's more, in addition to the divisional artillery, the baggage units of the 12th Cavalry Division have not yet completely eliminated the load-carrying carriages towed by mules and horses.

However, no matter how slow these No. 2 assault guns were, their own "hussar" battalion could not shake off these iron lumps and act alone. Their own troops are not those mounted infantry with light and heavy machine guns and mortars. The hussar battalion that dismounted from the horse is estimated to be less effective than 2 infantry companies.

If the Russian army is in motion, Kleist is confident that he will use the mobility of the cavalry to insert himself from the flank, bite and go. But now that the Russian army is huddled and stopped there, he can't speak. If you throw off the assault gun and go it alone, then even if you rush to Soldao, you will be thrown into the battlefield and consumed in vain.

This feeling made Kleist feel very uncomfortable. Cavalry, it should be said that the status of pure cavalry is declining, which is a fact that every pure cavalryman who is as proud of the title of hussar as Kleist understands, but does not want to admit.

Every cavalry officer with a certain sensitivity to the times can feel the powerlessness of the cavalry in the face of the progress of the times.

Pure cavalry lacking heavy firepower lacked the ability to attack fortifications, and the progress of weapons and technology The cavalry could no longer use its proud mobility to harvest the enemy's life like cutting wheat, and in the face of the muzzle of the machine gun, the cavalry became the harvested side.

If this is the case, then the cavalry will still not die, and the machine gun can kill the cavalry, but it is impossible to replace the cavalry. It was the mounted infantry that really put Kleist's cavalry under pressure.

Mobility is the combat effectiveness of cavalry, because dragging this kind of infantry support firepower leads to insufficient mobility, and the need to dismount during battle, so that the light cavalry who regard themselves as hussars deliberately show their difference from the mounted infantry on weekdays. But if these mounted infantry have higher mobility than themselves, then what right do they have to be proud?

And this is not impossible, no, it should be said that this is already a definite fact. Everyone knows that in General Mackensen's First Army, there was not a single horse in a unit, but the "cavalry division" with the title of cavalry! And a mid-level cavalry officer like Kleist had heard of the unit's overwhelming offensive capability compared to traditional cavalry divisions in military exercises.

Presumably, the only thing that restricts such a "cavalry" from completely replacing a pure cavalry like itself is the productive forces of the empire. This is the inevitable development direction of the progress of the times, and the traditional cavalry can only accept it, but cannot fight it.

Kleist did not crave war, but he did crave battle, so that the cavalry would have a perfect curtain call.

So now this feeling of not being able to do anything makes Kleist very irritable.

The sound of the horse's hoofs disturbed the sound of the cavalry marching on the country road, the sound of the cavalry galloping, and the sound shook Kleist's spirits, and as soon as he pulled the reins and clamped the horse's belly, he met the scout.

"Got the enemy?"

"Yes, battalion commander, the outpost found Russian cavalry, Cossacks, about 600 horsemen 5 km to the southeast. There was a small amount of infantry on the right flank, probably a logistical unit. The Russians are supposed to be resting and have not noticed us. ”

"600 horses, a regiment?" Kleist laughed: "The strength is three times that of us, and the strength is equal!" ”

"Inform Major Liszt of the 2 battalion and ask them to cross from our rear and move to the right flank of the Germans, who have handed over the infantry of the Germans. Tell the 'dragoons' behind you to move forward and take our place. Pass my order, and the whole battalion will regroup! Let those Russians know that times have changed! ”

Kleist wants to command his troops to fight a real cavalry battle with the Russians!

The whole battalion of cavalry gathered together, regrouped, and then picked up speed and quickly moved closer to the Russians.

The movement of 200 cavalrymen marching in a dense formation was enough for the seasoned Cossacks to spot them, and by the time Kleist's cavalry battalion was a kilometer away, the Russians on the opposite side had already mounted their horses and lined up.

Although the encounter with the German cavalry here was an absolute disaster, which meant that the pursuing forces of the Germans appeared on the flanks of the 7th Army.

But they were all cavalry, and there were fewer of them than themselves, and the Cossacks did not choose to retreat, but decided to fight the German cavalry!

Because of the numerical disadvantage, Kleist had to widen the array, the width of the queue was 100 horses, and only two horizontal columns were discharged.

And the opposite Cossack cavalry, the width of the queue 150 horses, the standard 4-column formation.

However, in the face of such a numerical disadvantage, the cavalry under Kleist's command did not panic. It's not that they are arrogant, but that the German cavalry is no longer an old antique who can only charge with cavalry swords.

The German cavalry infantry was fully armed with semi-automatic rifles using wire folding holders and pistol-type small grips. In addition to traditional cavalry weapons such as the Type 1890 cavalry knife hanging on the left side of the waist, the German hussars were issued with newer fully automatic weapons.

The automatic pistol, called the MP10, is an air-conductive automatic structure like the G3 semi-automatic rifle. Fully automatic fire can empty a 3-round magazine full of 10.6X25X30 pistol rounds. Although the length of the gun has been greatly reduced, some shadows of the G3 semi-automatic rifle can still be seen on the gun. As in the cavalry carbine G3, a wire folding stock and a pistol-type small grip are installed.

The combat dogma of the hussars, who kept pace with the times, clearly required the cavalry to give the enemy a magazine to taste before charging!

The two groups of cavalry faced each other at a distance of 1 kilometer, the horses sneezed, but their riders made no sound, and the battlefield was filled with a suffocating silence. The horses, which were in touch with the riders, also felt the breath before the battle, and kept scraping the ground with their front hooves.

Kleist pulled out his ornate cavalry sword, and the shiny blade of the 1890 cavalry knife slowly unsheathed with a pleasant grinding sound. Kleist raised his cavalry knife diagonally upwards. This action is the signal, and the sound of "bang" in the back row is neatly aligned.

The Russians on the opposite side also drew their Chakxi sabers almost at the same time, and like the Germans, the first row of the Russians did not draw their swords, and the Russian cavalry was also armed with Mosin Nagant dragoon rifles. This was probably the only improvement after the cavalry entered the age of firearms.

Kleist slowly urged his horses, 200 cavalry slowly advanced, and the Cossacks on the opposite side were also moving slowly, and the distance between the two sides quickly shortened to only 600 meters.

"Cavalry! Charge! ”

Kleist clamped the horse's belly, and the Hanover horse under his crotch surged out, and then the earth began to shake. The wall charge of 200 cavalry in a dense formation was like thunder!

The Cossack cavalry on the opposite side also shouted that Ulla had started the charge! The hooves of nearly a thousand war horses galloping seem to be able to crush the earth! The roars of the cavalry seem to tear the sky apart!

The Cossack cavalry chose to shoot at a distance of 500 meters, and the rate of fire of bolt-action rifles made it difficult for the cavalry to have time to fire a second shot, so firing first was the right choice. However, it is not easy to hit people at a distance of 500 meters, let alone on a high-speed horse.

However, a few of the Germans were still hit, and the horses that were hit neighed and began to run wildly, and the cavalry desperately controlled the direction of the horses.

The wall charge of modern cavalry based on the theory of Leicester's equation is certainly amazing, but it also has extremely high requirements for the quality of cavalry. If you are not careful in the high-speed sprint in a dense formation, you may be knocked to the ground by your comrades, and then you will be crushed by the war horses behind.

So even if the war horse is hit, the cavalry has to control the war horse and can only rush forward!

The German cavalry, which was pressed against their horses and still in full formation, made the Cossacks have to admit that the cavalry on the opposite side had no less quality than their own.

However, before the Russians could wonder why the Germans had not fired back, the two sides had already rushed to a distance of less than 300 meters, and the German cavalry in the first row straightened up neatly, picked up the MP10 and pulled the trigger.

The firepower of nearly a hundred fully automatic weapons is amazing! Dense bullets whistled towards the Cossack cavalry opposite. Cluster strafing doesn't need to be precise, and the opposite side is a large target like cavalry, and thousands of bullets cover the enemy on the opposite side.

The power of the 10.6X25 pistol bullet is also much greater than the 9X23 Bergman pistol bullet commonly used by the Imperial army, and even the warhorse cannot withstand the damage caused by several consecutive hits. The Cossack cavalry on the opposite side fell in an instant.

The front row of the Cossack cavalry was obviously blinded by the fire of the MP10, and the fallen cavalry was crushed by the horses behind it and the formation of the cavalry was slightly confused.

At this moment, the German cavalry, which had emptied the magazine, threw the MP10 behind his back, and the new matching gun belt could hang the MP10 on his back without affecting the cavalryman's movements.

Drawing the cavalry knife at his waist, the two cavalry slammed together!

The charge in a dense formation does not require any tricks, it is also a wall charge, and whoever can't maintain the formation first will be scattered.

The same tall war horse, the same bright war knife. The blade sliced through the muscles, bringing up streaks of blood.

There is no screaming in such a cavalry hedge, and with the blessing of the speed of the war horse, the impact of the cavalry is incomparable, and the cavalry who is cut off will be trampled into a mess by the horse's hooves in an instant.

Using the impact of the horse, Kleist easily cut open the chest cavity of a Cossack cavalryman, then bowed his head to avoid the blade of a cavalryman, and then flattened the blade of the sword, breaking the waist and abdomen of the other cavalry, swept off the war horse and passed through the Cossack cavalry ranks, and the war horse continued to run forward for hundreds of meters before stopping the momentum.

The German cavalry, who had passed through the ranks of the Cossack cavalry, pulled the reins and turned their horses' heads and began to regroup, each covered with blood, the enemy's, or their own!

A cavalry battalion charging Kleist was a fifth less! But the Russians fell at least 5 times as much as themselves! This is the price of being scattered in a dense charge!

The first platoon, which had suffered even greater casualties, did not retreat to the rear, but crossed over to their comrades who were now in front of them, and once again stood in the first row, where they clamped their cavalry knives in the crooks of their arms, wiped the blood with their uniforms, and then inserted them back into their scabbards.

Then pull the MP10 back to your chest, remove the empty magazine, pull out the new magazine from the magazine bag on your chest, and load it, then pull the bolt and load.

By this time the distance between the two sides was already less than 300 meters, and seeing the actions of the Germans caused a small disturbance in the ranks of the Russians. However, the belligerence of the Cossack cavalry did not deter them.

"Excellent! Again! Cavalry! Charge! Kleist shouted, charging again!

As if a repetition of what had just happened, under the fire of the MP10, the Cossack cavalry fell down again, and then the two teams of cavalry collided again.

However, this time, because the sprint distance was too short, neither side increased their speed to the extreme, so the cavalry with insufficient impact force collided and became entangled.

The Type 1890 cavalry knife used by the German cavalry and the Chaksy cavalry knife used by the Cossack cavalry were both curved knives with a greater emphasis on slashing. The intertwined cavalry brandished their swords and slashed wildly at the enemy in front of them.

The close-range slashing made the scene even more bloody, and the red-eyed cavalrymen didn't even care about swinging their cold blades at them, just thinking about cutting off the enemy's head with their own swords!

When the two cavalry staggered again, only half of the cavalry was left on Kleist's side, Kleist hacked two Cossacks to death, and also unloaded an enemy's arm by the way, but he was also stabbed in the chest, simply because of the metal magazine in the magazine bag The block was not too bad, but the huge impact still made Kleist feel the burning pain in his chest at this time. However, looking at the sparse Cossack cavalry on the opposite side, a cruel smile appeared on Kleist's face: "We are almost equal in number now." ”

The courage of the Cossacks was finally broken in the face of the Germans who were once again in formation, stealing guns and loading, and the shaking of the earth and the shouts of killing from the other side meant that German reinforcements had arrived.

Most of the Cossack cavalry chose to dismount and raise their hands to sneak down, and a small number of guys who turned around and ran away were not ready to chase, where could the Russians run in the big encirclement of East Prussia?

"Rescue the wounded, collect the prisoners! Figure out what is happening to the Russians now! ”

In fact, there were very few seriously wounded after such cavalry hedged, and there was basically only one ending after falling off the horse. It was also a relief for the valiant cavalrymen, both Germans and Russians.

But for the living, the heavy casualties are heavy boulders weighing on their chests. Even more cruel, some of them want to end the suffering of their closest comrades.

The cavalrymen hugged their wounded horses by the necks, kissed them on the foreheads, and then, tearfully, turned their guns on their closest comrades and pulled the trigger.

But the war continued, and there was not much time left for the cavalry to bask in their grief.

"The Russians now have at least one infantry division and two infantry brigades in front of Soldao. We must continue to reinforce Soldao. "The news from the captives is terrible.

Although there were no external injuries, the internal injuries were definitely not light, but Kleist still decided to gather the cavalry and continue to advance.

"Everyone is in good condition, follow me! Others stay! ”

No one made any sound, but they got on their horses in unison. Each of the horsemen had wounds on their bodies, but in their opinion, as long as the horses were okay, they were still fighting for battle.

Although the heavy casualties made the German cavalry not rejoice at the victory over an enemy several times their size, although Kleist was wounded in front of him, but his bright eyes were still full of fighting spirit, the cavalry did have the temperament of a victorious army.

"Good!" Kleist nodded in satisfaction, and then shouted in his chest, which would be in severe pain even if he breathed: "Cavalry! Let's go! ”