Lieutenant General Spanek discovered that something was wrong when he retreated to the Romanian 8th Cavalry Brigade's defense line... The 8th Cavalry Brigade built its defense line on the open snowfield, directly blocking the middle of the road.
Lieutenant General Sponneck immediately found Major General Ephraim, the commander of the 8th Cavalry Brigade, and the two had a fierce dispute.
"You can't build a defense line like this!" Lieutenant General Sponneck said: "I mean without any cover, Russian tanks can detect you and shoot at you from one kilometer away!"
"But we are cavalry, General!" Major General Ephraim replied, "We have our own defensive tactics!"
"Oh, really?" Lieutenant General Sponneck spread his hands: "Tell me about your tactics!"
"What?"
"Tell me about your tactics! Your defensive tactics!"
Major General Ephraim stepped forward helplessly, pointed at the map and said: "First of all, I have to emphasize that the defense of the cavalry unit requires both offense and defense..."
"Hmm!" Lieutenant General Sponneck raised his eyebrows.
"Although our defense line is vulnerable to attack, it is also conducive to cavalry attack!" Major General Ephraim replied: "You know, if we build our position on high ground or other places, all of us must dismount and become infantry
Got it!"
This is indeed the embarrassment of the cavalry. If the war horses were only used for maneuvering, they would be no different from ordinary horses. At the same time, the cavalry would not need to practice hard on riding skills or tactics.
"So what now?" Lieutenant General Sponneck asked, "What can you do now?"
"Now!" Major General Ephraim pointed to the map and replied: "When the enemy attacks our defense line, we can send cavalry to quickly outflank and attack from both wings..."
"God, you mean to use cavalry to outflank him?" Lieutenant General Sponneck rolled his eyes.
"Yes!" Major General Ephraim asked, "What's the problem?"
"They only need to set up a few machine guns to stop your outflank, Major General!"
Major General Ephraim puffed up his chest, with a look of dissatisfaction on his face, as if he felt insulted.
"General!" Major General Ephraim replied: "I think you have imagined us too fragile. The 8th Cavalry Brigade has a glorious combat history, and my men are well-trained..."
"Oh, really? That was the history of the last war!" Sponeneck retorted: "The battle is different now, Major General!"
"Although there are indeed differences, our fighting spirit and courage will not change!" Major General Ephraim replied: "We will prove with facts that the 8th Cavalry Brigade is not a force that can be insulted, General!"
Lieutenant General Sponneck was a little helpless.
The two of them don't seem to be on the same dimension. One talks about the reality of the battlefield, and the other talks about courage and experience... This may be because Romania's main enemy is the Soviet Union. If the Soviet Union still retains cavalry, Romania must also retain cavalry.
.
Lieutenant General Spanek could not convince Major General Ephraim, so he had no choice but to contact Manstein.
"General!" Lieutenant General Sponneck said: "They will only get themselves into trouble. They actually want to use cavalry to outflank the enemy's armored forces. The Russians will give them a hard lesson!"
"You take over the command of the 8th Cavalry Brigade, Lieutenant General!" Manstein said: "No matter what, try your best to prevent or delay the Russian offensive!"
"Yes, General!"
However, it was already too late. While Manstein and Spanek were discussing, the battle had already begun.
Lieutenant General Sponneck put down the phone and ran to Major General Ephraim's headquarters. He hoped to take over the command and correct Major General Ephraim's mistakes, but he failed to find Major General Ephraim.
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"Where is the major general? Where is your commander?" Lieutenant General Sponneck asked anxiously the staff officer who was busy answering the phone.
"The general has gone to the battlefield!" the staff officer replied: "He personally led the cavalry to attack the Russians!"
Major General Efrem has a deep-seated hatred for the Soviets. He is a native of Bisabilaya. Two years ago, his family died at the hands of Soviet soldiers when the Soviets occupied this place.
"Can we contact him?" Lieutenant General Sponecker asked.
"Is there any problem, General?" A colonel staff member came up to him: "The Major General ordered me to take charge of the command here. If you have any problems, you can tell me directly!"
At this time, Lieutenant General Sponneck knew that there was no room for recovery.
Lieutenant General Spanek guessed correctly. At this time, the Romanian cavalry force was divided into two parts, one on the left and one on the right, to outflank the Soviet army. Major General Ephraim led one of them. He waved his hand on the running horse.
Drawing their sabers and shouting, they charged towards the Soviet flank...
If it had been in the past, during World War I, this tactic might have been useful.
But now, several tanks came forward, followed by more than a dozen half-track armored vehicles, and then at an order, machine guns and tank guns roared.
In an instant, the horses neighed and thundered, and the war horses were hit by bullets and fell. Under the huge inertia, they violently threw the master on their back to the ground. One after another, there was an endless stream. After a while, they were everywhere.
There were corpses of people and horses, including many ownerless horses that were frightened and ran around.
If there is anything worth mentioning about the cavalry in combat, it is that they can maneuver faster in the snow, so under certain special circumstances they can find the enemy's weaknesses, attack quickly, and win in a single battle.
But this advantage is almost negligible in front of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade, because they have half-track armored vehicles.
Compared with cavalry, half-track armored vehicles have speed and cross-country performance that are not inferior to war horses. In addition, they have better defense, stability, firepower... almost all performances have been comprehensively improved.
It's no wonder that cavalry will be eliminated after this. A machine gun on a jeep frame will be much more useful on the battlefield than cavalry.
If the charge of these cavalry can bring any losses to the Soviet army, it is that the ammunition consumption is too high...
"We are running out of ammunition!" the instructor reported to Shulka.
"Comrade Maximovich!" Shulka shouted to the deputy battalion commander: "Let them hurry up and bring up another batch of ammunition!"
The occupation of the high ground in the rear ensured that the 1st Guards Tank Brigade could intersect the transportation line of Chankoy. From this aspect, there were advantages to having high ground on the forward route.
"They are simply crazy!" The instructor looked at the Romanian cavalry who were beaten badly on both wings but still tried to charge: "Do they think this will have any effect?"
"Don't be surprised by this, comrade instructor!" Shulka replied helplessly: "Because not long ago, our cavalry did the same thing!"