Trotsky meant that I was the main one, and since it was not clear whether the White Army was going north or east, what was the point of guessing wildly? It's better to do what you have to do, Mirerovo is of great significance to us, so let's firmly guard this piece. If you do this, you won't lose in any way.

In military terms, Sverdlov was not good at it, he just expressed his opinion, and as for whether it would be accepted, he did not care. Even he had this attitude, and no one else would naturally go against Trotsky, wasn't it just Milerovo. You said you want to keep it, and we'll keep it.

Yes, in the opinion of the vast majority of the members of the Military Commission, a large-scale decisive battle will not break out in this place of Mirerovo, the White Army has only invested the strength of one regiment, and there is no information that the main force of the Czech Legion has gone north, and it is estimated that this place is also a warm-up and a test.

For this reason, they are not averse to meeting the White Army in Milerovo, we have just recovered Rostov, if we immediately lose Milerovo again, it will not look good!

However, no one expected that the Battle of Milerovo was just an appetizer, and the battle for the city kicked off the decisive battle between the Red Army and the White Army on the battlefield in Ukraine. Both sides continued to throw formed troops into this small city, and fought a fierce offensive and defensive battle on this plain!

At six o'clock in the evening, when the 1st Battalion of the 1st Machine Gun Regiment arrived at Mirerovo, the smoke of the small city had not yet cleared after a fierce battle, and the smell of blood peculiar to the sand could be smelled from a distance. The battalion commander Kurnikov put down the binoculars, frowned and asked, "Have you made contact with the second company?" ”

This second company naturally refers to the company where Kozhemiyaka belongs, as a reconnaissance unit of the first battalion. They were stationed in Milerovo.

"Nope. The outskirts of the city were full of white troops. The heralds couldn't get in. ”

"Tsk." Kurnikov was a little embarrassed, no one can say whether Mirerovo had already fallen, it was dangerous to rush in, what if he was surrounded by the enemy?

"Go and ask Comrade Regiment Commander."

After thinking about it, Kurnikov decided to ask Blyucher's opinion, of course, he personally thought that it would be more appropriate to build a position outside Mirerovo first, and wait for the main force of the regiment to arrive, and then take action.

But Kulnikov was determined not to think of it. At the moment when he sent a telegram to inquire, the central government had already strengthened its determination to defend Mirerovo and demanded that Frunze must control Mirerovo at all costs.

Frunze naturally did not dare to disobey the orders of the central government, and immediately telegraphed Blyukhel, asking his main forces to immediately move closer to Mirerovo and ensure that the city was under his control.

"Tell Kurnikov not to hesitate to attack Milerovo at once. Even if it's falling, it's going to have to be taken back now! ”

Blyucher also did not realize at this time that Mirerovo was going to become a meat grinder. He was just carrying out the orders of the central government. He felt that in order to defend the city, he had to take it back first. Secondly. Mirerovo was surrounded by a flat river, and there was hardly any fulcrum and support for defense, and it was too much to fight the White Army on such an easy to attack and difficult to defend plain.

If you want to hold Milerovo, you can only make a fuss about the city. Therefore, in any case, a battalion must attack, and after a whole day of fierce fighting in the dark, taking advantage of the enemy's fierce battle, a surprise attack by a battalion is more likely to recapture Milevo. Wait for the main force of the regiment to arrive before starting the battle, it is not sure when it will be, it is estimated that the daylily is cold.

Kurnikov had no choice, although he did not like the order, especially when he had figured out that there was far more than one regiment of the enemy in front of him, probably close to a brigade or even more, and he really did not want to risk attacking. But an order is an order, and as a soldier, a Bolshevik, he must carry out all the orders of his superiors without compromise!

"Fifteen minutes later, the attack began. Attacked by a company! ”

Kulnikov's battle plan was to wait until it was completely dark and use the cover of night to make a surprise attack. Years later, we found Ilyushin, a veteran of the battle, who recalled: "We received an order, and the battalion commander told us to move our company through a wheat field to Mirerovo ...... It's still cold in Ukraine in April, the humidity is especially heavy, and the wheat fields are full of mud, and you have to sink into it if you step on your ankles...... We walked very slowly, for fear of being discovered by the Whites...... Our goal is a slightly raised mound, where, according to the plan, we will build forward positions and cover the main forces of the battalion to attack the ...... of Mirerovo"

“…… However, our luck was very bad, and we were only halfway through when we were discovered by the White Army, who also had a squad of White Army stationed on the small mound. They spotted us 'just in time' and opened heavy fire on us. I quickly threw myself to the ground, the sticky mud smeared my face, I didn't have time to wipe it, I quickly raised my gun and fired back, and in one breath I shot all the bullets in the magazine, well, it seems that I killed a white bandit......"

"But my good luck ended there, when I was pressing bullets into the magazine with the bridge clip, my head suddenly shook, and I knew that I must have been shot. The first reaction that came to my mind was – it's over. But then I said to myself, when you can still think, it's not too bad. The squad leader immediately rushed over, checked on me, and said to me with a smile: 'Boy, you are lucky, but your ears will be asymmetrical in the future. ’”

"The battle continued, and the comrades, inspired by the commissar to lead the charge, rushed to the small mound in one fell swoop. Before we could ascend, the white dog mongrels had fled in a swarm, and by the moonlight I could see their ugliness with their hands and feet...... Although the mound was taken, the suddenness of the battle had disappeared, and the White Army had discovered our tracks, which made the battle very difficult for us to follow......"

Kulnikov also knew that the situation was not good, but he didn't have much to do, so he could only let the boys act as soon as possible and rush to the city as soon as possible. At this time, Kozhemiyaka, who stubbornly held on to the city, also reached the most extreme limit:

"There are always things in life that you can never forget, even after a long half-century—on the night of April 27 and the dawn that followed. My comrades and I looked like a dying bunch at the time...... We were still trying to hold on, at the time. The White Army was besieging our contingent of less than 20 men from all sides of the town. On the edge of the town is a three-storey inn on the side of the railroad line, where our company is located. Most of the windows on the upper floors of the inn had been broken during the daytime fighting. The walls around it were severely damaged by shells fired by the White Army from outside the town. It's almost leaking everywhere......"

"I hid in the corner with the commissar and a few of the signal men who were in charge of maintaining the telephone lines trying to rest for a while, and in the basement at our feet, along with the mayor of the town and the local party secretary, they were vainly fiddling with a broken radio station, and they all used this rag to try to get in touch with the rear all afternoon. But all efforts were in vain, except for the noisy electrical signals coming from the headphones. Nothing was received. But we remained convinced that reinforcements would come, and we encouraged each other and whispered the quotations of Comrade Lenin, which filled us with strength......"

"Although we could still hear the shelling of the White Army from the south, there was a dead silence in the town. I took a nap in the hurry, the medicine and ammunition were running out, the only thing to be thankful for was that we had enough food, and the rations rations for the whole company were now distributed to less than twenty mouths, and several of the seriously wounded comrades were unable to eat at all, and for the first time since I arrived in Mirerovo, I had a full stomach......"

"Because of the complexity of the mind. I didn't even take a nap, but it saved my life. While the other comrades were glaring, I was the first to notice that the White Army was trying to attack us under the cover of night...... The gun went off, the bullets whizzed over my head, the ceiling rattled, and I had only one thought in my head, shoot! Shoot! Kill these shitty bastards...... After a fierce and short shootout, the corpses left behind by the White Army retreated like a tide. How many times have we repelled their attacks? Ten or twenty? I don't remember anymore, my head is dizzy......"

The night attack was carried out by the so-called death squads organized by the White Army, but to their great disappointment, the exhausted Kozhemiyaka were not routed, let alone surrendered, and immediately gave them a head-on blow. Even their raids alleviated the Kozhemiyaka's lack of ammunition, and after obtaining them, their confidence became more and more abundant, and they became more and more tenacious to hold on.

And for the daredevils of the White Army, to make matters worse, they retreated head-on with a battalion that had entered the city, and under the assault of the Red Army soldiers, they scattered like lost dogs.

"Haven't you been in touch yet?" Kurnikov, who had rushed into the city, asked worriedly. In fact, even he did not count on himself, and it was unrealistic to expect a company to withstand the onslaught of a brigade for a whole day.

So he immediately changed the subject: "Organize a fire reconnaissance, find out the situation in the city, let the comrades hurry up and build positions, the main force will not arrive until tomorrow afternoon, we must be ready for a protracted battle!" ”

Kurnikov gave this order, and Blyukher, who was on a forced march with the main forces, stood on the side of the road and gave an inspiring speech to every Red Army soldier who walked by: "All the comrades of the 1st Machine Gun Regiment, you are standing on the road to the liberation of Mirerovo...... You fought from the foot of Petrograd to the banks of the sparkling Don River...... The road ahead is great and glorious, and the workers and peasant brothers of Milerovo are waiting for us to liberate...... Let us carry forward the spirit of heroism, not afraid of fatigue and hard work, we must annihilate the white bandit army of Ukraine, and plant the red flag representing supreme glory on the land of Mirerovo! ”

A soldier of the 1st Machine Gun Regiment, who took part in the rapid march, recalled this great march in his family letter: "We were thoroughly excited by Comrade Blyukhel's speech, and we hurried day and night, without stopping. With only our legs, we marched a hundred versts in more than 20 hours, my God, I never knew that I could go so far, I could go so fast......"

However, Blyukhel's main forces could not save the fire from far away, and while they were still on the road, the fierce battle for Mirerovo continued.

Kozhemiyaka cleaned up the results of the battle and rebuilt the fortifications, and after the defeat of the White daredevils, their artillery began to speak again. One shell after another fell around the company headquarters. A nearby house doesn't seem to be able to stand up to such a test anymore. After shaking it, the whole thing collapsed.

After the shelling was over, a new offensive of the White Army began, grenades constantly flying in the air, and from time to time machine guns poked their heads out of windows and roofs to launch a fierce fire, and everywhere there were flashes of explosions and shouts of killing.

In the heat of battle, the Whites once again used armored vehicles, this time they deliberately added steel plates near the tires, and the original tactics against them no longer worked.

Kozhemiyaka recalled: "The White Bandits followed behind the armored vehicles and pressed towards us. A few comrades and I shot him a dozen times, but we couldn't help this 'monster'. Unlike later, when we didn't have bazookas, anti-tank guns, or even anti-tank guns, it was really bad to watch our comrades fall one by one, and the eyes of the commissars were red...... The last time I saw the commissar, he was hiding behind the ruins with his body down, his body and shoulders full of explosives, what did he want to do? Die with the enemy? ”

The violent explosion once again destroyed the armored vehicles of the White Army, and the commissar of Kozhemyaka stopped this "monster" with his flesh and blood. He will never forget that scene, and tears burst into his eyes at that moment. He opened fire and cried until he fainted from the enemy's bullets.

When Kozhemiyaka woke up, he was lying in the humble infirmary of a battalion, and the military doctor told him that his company had survived all but him.

However, the perseverance of the Kozhemiyaka was still meaningful, not only buying time for the first battalion, but also greatly killing the vitality of the White Army, so that Krasnov directly flipped the table.

"A little Mirerovo, who fought all day and killed hundreds of people, can't even take it down, are you all rice buckets?"

The general walked up and down his tent, swearing words constantly popping out of his mouth, so that his officers could not even raise their heads.

"I don't want to hear any more casualties, I just want Mirerovo!"

Yes, Krasnov changed his mind, he was deeply impressed by the tenacity of the Red Army, and if the Red Army encountered in the future was like such a difficult one, then it would not be a good decision to go north!

Krasnov began to get scared, he no longer reported blind optimism about going north, and as it was now, it seemed more realistic to go east. If you could get in touch with the Allies in the Far East, and with foreign support, and then with the Bolsheviks, would it be safer?

However, if he wants to go east, Mirerovo is also a hurdle that cannot be crossed, unless he gives up retreating along the railway line and runs away with two feet, he must take Mirerovo. Krasnov neither wanted to walk, it was too slow and too tiring, and he was even more reluctant to give up the money and supplies looted from Donetsk and Luhansk.

After working so hard and carrying a lot of notoriety, Krasnov did not want to give up this harvest to the Bolsheviks. Therefore, he had to take Milerovo.

"Transfer another regiment to Mirerovo, and, bring in the heavy artillery as well, tomorrow! I demand that tomorrow Milerovo must raise my military flag! ”

As Krasnov made up his mind to take Mirerovo, the battle was immediately intense, with the entire town and streets reverberating with the sound of shells and explosions, and the sudden bursts of machine guns, rumbling cannons, and thumping grenades mingled into a symphony of war.

The air was filled with billowing smoke and flying dust, and the bright light of the moment when the shells exploded flashed in front of the eyes of the soldiers on both sides of the battle. The groans, sighs, and shouts of killing made everyone's nerves tense, as if to say: "This is war, a war that is extremely bloody to the fullest!" ”

On the sidelines of the battle, Kurnikov wrote in his diary: "I was not at the forefront, but at a glance I could see the white bandit soldiers rolling through the streets and intersections, and the red light and noise of the explosions irritated my nerves. I don't know what else to do other than bow my head and pray right away! When reddish-brown dust rushes towards us like waves, when we can hear the screams of wounded soldiers from time to time, when you witness a wounded soldier who has fallen in the street moaning and crawling away from the battlefield, the instinct for survival will make everyone try to find a safe bunker...... Messengers constantly reported bad news to me in twos and threes, that the street entrance of such and such was lost, that the building of such and such was flattened by the heavy artillery of the White Army, or that the soldiers of such and such a platoon and such and such a squad were killed and wounded! It's only been about ten hours! The White Army's offensive was so fierce that it almost wanted to crush us! ”

Kurnikov and his battalion felt the pressure greatly, and the tireless onslaught of the White Army made it almost impossible for them to breathe. The whole of Milerovo was covered in flames and smoke, and Blyukhel, who was sitting on horseback, could see the smoke rushing into the sky even without a telescope.

"How far is it from Milerovo?" He asked without any emotion.

"Comrade Regiment Commander, there are still ten kilometers!"

Blyukhel glanced at the smoke and dust of Mirerovo again, he didn't know if the first battalion of Ludao could still withstand it, and he didn't know that the white army of Ludao had increased its investment, he only knew that he had to be faster and faster! (To be continued......)

PS: The Nth bow thanks to the second kill of potatoes and Juventus comrades!