Chapter 324： Battle of Bulgaria (5)

After the Bulgarian army led by Lieutenant General Kudinchev retreated to Pleven, they prepared for defense. The pursuing Lieutenant General Fereit, after hearing that the Bulgarian army was entrenched in Pleven, also delayed the march, and he wanted to make final preparations for the capture of Pleven.

The reason why Lieutenant General Fereit was so cautious was that in addition to the large number of Bulgarian troops gathered in Pleven, the construction of local fortifications was also the key.

Since ancient times, Pleven has served as a major transportation link between Bulgaria and Romania. The traces of various eras can be vaguely seen inside and outside the city. Of course, as a traffic artery, the defense against possible attacks from the enemy is also under consideration. In the history, Pleven has experienced a lot of wars and was destroyed three times. However, they were all rebuilt afterwards relying on the prosperous trade.

Over the years, thanks to being located in the interior of Bulgaria, Pleven has not been attacked by war in these years. The closest moment was the Romanian attack in the Second Balkan War. However, Pleven was not attacked because of the changes in the situation. However, after that, the Bulgarians also built a lot of fortifications as a strategic point to defend against the increasingly powerful neighbors in the north, and now is the time to use them.

As the commander in command of the Romanian army to attack Bulgaria, Lieutenant General Feleit certainly knows this well, so he is also gathering his own forces to smash the hard walnut. The most advantageous weapon in his hand to conquer this city is the two heavy artillery regiments (one 150 heavy artillery regiment and one 210 heavy artillery regiment) assigned to him.

The 210 heavy artillery regiment was because after the Battle of Suceava, the Romanian military found that large-caliber heavy artillery was the most effective in the face of enemy fortifications and was urgently allocated. Therefore, in the face of the Bulgarian army gathered in the defense of Pleven, Lieutenant General Feleit prepared to use his most powerful weapon.

While Lieutenant General Fereit was waiting for his heavy artillery, Lieutenant General Kudingchev was also strengthening the fortifications inside and outside the city. At the same time, the two are constantly making small moves. Arranging troops to harass the supply line to force the Romanian army to disperse its forces is due to Lieutenant General Kudinchev as a commander. It is not surprising that Fereit arranged a small number of elite soldiers to bypass Pleven, and harassed the back of the defenders.

So today I sneak attack on your transport convoy, and tomorrow I will raid the quarters behind you frequently before the outbreak of the battle. But both of them knew that these were not effective means to defeat their opponents, and only the head-to-head offensive and defensive battle in Pleven was the focus of the two sides.

Time is passed frequently and nervously like this. After a week of confrontation, the heavy artillery that Lieutenant-General Fereit was waiting for finally arrived. So on the second day of 1918, the Romanian army was finally ready to attack.

A small village called Petrol, six kilometers outside the city of Pleven, is already full of Romanian soldiers, and the local Bulgarians have fled the village. In the open space outside the village, a heavy artillery with its gun shells up and down, as well as artillerymen preparing for the war, let people know that this is the Romanian heavy artillery position.

Among them, the slender large-caliber cannon and the stubby howitzer can be seen here. For heavy artillery positions like Petrol, Lieutenant General Feleit prepared four places, and they would be heavy hammers against Pleven, the tortoise shell.

When the needle was pointing at nine o'clock, the heavy artillery with firing parameters was already ready to fire.

"Boom, boom, boom"

The rapidly falling artillery shells bombarded Bulgaria's well-prepared position, and a large number of painstaking fortifications failed to withstand the bombardment of heavy artillery and turned into dust. The Bulgarian soldiers hiding in the fortification shivered under the lewd might of the **** of war.

This made the Romanian soldiers who were waiting for the attack at the launching position refreshed. Everyone was so excited when the superior artillery fired over the enemy's position.

"Look at it, there was a big explosion over there, and it should have been directly hit by the ammunition storage position."

The martyrdom after a front-line ammunition warehouse was hit caused the soldiers to discuss with excitement.

"I saw that all the gun barrels were blown up."

"I also saw the machine gun blown up."

Seeing the soldiers with heated discussions, the low-level officers in charge of leading the team did not step forward to stop them. Talking before the war helped relieve their tension.

In the face of Romania's heavy artillery bombardment, the defenders certainly would not remain indifferent, and they also counterattacked with their heavy artillery.

"Howl"

A sharp sound came from far to near.

This voice changed the complexion of experienced officers and soldiers. "Hurry up and hide, there will be shelling."

"boom"

A shell fell more than ten meters in front of the starting position, making the soldiers who had been discussed enthusiastically ashamed.

"Damn, these Bulgarians won't be well."

"Our artillery, blast these daring to fight back against the Bulgarian chopsticks."

Seeing their embarrassed appearance, the soldiers began to condemn again, and at the same time hoped that their artillery would teach these enemies who were embarrassed.

As they did not let them down, they possessed air superiority and built a hot-air balloon artillery brother, and soon shot the cannonballs on the enemy artillery that dared to show up.

In the face of Romania's anti-artillery shelling, the defending side's artillery was divided into four to evade, and those that could not be avoided were turned into parts under the bombardment of the heavy artillery regiment. This also relieved the shelling of the Romanian soldiers on the position, and also reduced the damage suffered by the Bulgarian position that was shelled. This also became the purpose of the defense.

After two hours of fierce shelling, the Bulgarians' position was in a mess, and the fortifications were almost flattened out. It looked like the surface of the moon filled with pits and pits in pitch black.

Seeing this, the officer leading the team waved his arms and shouted loudly. "attack."

The soldiers who launched the position immediately followed their commander and rushed towards the enemy with great morale. Looking from the sky, it seemed as if an army green tide was about to drown the opponent.

The Bulgarian soldier, who was still a little groggy and shaken his head, on the position that had been tortured by Romanian heavy artillery, his complexion changed greatly when he saw this situation.

"Get ready to fight back."

The officer among them immediately eagerly issued orders to his soldiers.

"There are not many enemies, so quickly seize the position."

The sparse gunfire on the ground did not stop the soldiers from attacking, but boosted their morale.

This situation also made Major General Foktor who was in charge of directing the battle overjoyed, and he directly ordered the staff by the pillow. "Immediately let the artillery increase the interception firepower, and must not allow the enemy to reinforce it. I will take the enemy's forward position in this battle."

Under the orders of Major General Foktor, the already fierce artillery fire became even more haste. This made it impossible for the Bulgarian soldiers to reinforce the front-line positions to pass, and also made the Bulgarian commander in charge of the defense jump with anger.

Under the leadership of the officers, they rushed into the fragmented position with few casualties and exchanged fire at close range with the enemy. Without the supplement of reinforcements, the defenders on the position were driven out, which made Major General Foktor who was in charge of the battle very satisfied.

"Send a message to Lieutenant General Feleit that our army has taken the forward position in the first battle. The enemy army has been defeated and retreated to the rear, requesting instructions for the next step."

Soon the receipt of Lieutenant General Fereit arrived in front of him, with only one sentence. "I hope that we will continue to work hard to attack the enemy's line of defense."

Lieutenant General Fereit’s words made Major General Foktor very satisfied, and he called the communications staff to continue giving orders. "Let the rear artillery be prepared. In the afternoon, we will continue to attack the enemy's position, and we cannot give the enemy a chance to breathe."

In the ensuing battle, the Romanian army used its artillery and soldiers to occupy an absolute advantage, and launched a fierce attack on the defensive Bulgarian position one after another.

Heavy artillery bombardment of the infantry occupation, this set made the Romanians themselves, faced with the Germans in Suceava, suffered a big loss, and it was as easy to use as the Bulgarians.

Although Romania’s heavy artillery is not as large and large as the Germans, Bulgaria’s fortifications are not as strong as Romania’s built ~ www.novelhall.com~ Bulgaria, whose national strength is not as good as its opponents, wants to build Pleven into a strong fortress made of reinforced concrete. It's not realistic.

Most of the fortifications outside the city are based on civil engineering, and only a small number of key defense points, hidden soldier caves, and ammunition storage points are reinforced with cement. And the fortifications in the city can only use a large number of residential houses for simple reinforcement. Only a few key points are built in accordance with the standing fortification standards. Most of these fortifications cannot be resisted under heavy artillery bombardment.

In the face of the continuous onslaught of the Romanian army, Lieutenant General Kudinchev, who was in command, repeatedly complained. After a week of onslaught without leaving his hands, he finally couldn't help but asked for help from the Bulgarian commander-in-chief Admiral Zekov.

In the telegram for help, Lieutenant General Kudingchev said. "If there are no reinforcements within ten days, then it will be impossible to resist the enemy's offensive."

Facing Lieutenant General Kudinchev’s request for help, Admiral Zekov was shocked, so he could only find a way to draw troops from the front of Thessaloniki, which turned the Bulgarian campaign into a turn for the better.

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