Rise of Australia

Chapter 194 The Russo-Japanese War Ends
The tide of the war in the Far East changed in July.

First of all, on July 7, the Trans-Siberian Railway, which the Tsarist Russian Empire had been longing for, was finally completed, and it finally connected this huge empire end to end.

The benefits of the completion of the railway to the Russian Empire are unimaginable.He not only greatly improved the communication and transportation between the European and Asian regions of the Tsarist Russian Empire, but also played an irreplaceable role in the domestic stability of the Tsarist Russian Empire.

Of course, this also made it easier for the Tsarist Russian Empire to transfer troops from Europe to the Far East.

Starting from August, more than 4 Russian soldiers can arrive in the Far East every month to join the battlefield in the Far East.

In a short period of time, the Tsarist Russian army has indeed achieved a balance with the island country's army. Apart from the extremely tragic offensive and defensive battles, there are not too many changes in the territory.

截止1904年9月，远东战场一共拥有28万俄国军队和43万岛国军队，加起来就是70多万的军队。

As Russia and the island countries have invested more and more in this war, there is basically no hope of ending the war in a short time.

Both countries are ready for a protracted war, and they are seeking more resources and financial support from their allies France and the United Kingdom.

Of course, the expanded arms demand due to this war is no longer exclusive to Australia alone.

France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and many other countries have participated in this arms trade and sold a large amount of arms to Russia and island countries.

However, because of their respective alliance treaties, French arms are only exported to Russia, and British arms are only exported to island countries.

Coupled with the German Empire's wooing of the Tsarist Russian Empire, it did not export weapons to the island country.

This also led to the fact that only Australia and the United States exported weapons to the two countries at the same time.

However, Australia still has a larger market share than the US arms by virtue of advanced weapons from the United Kingdom and Germany.

Australia's arms exports in this war were second only to the United Kingdom, and even slightly higher than France, which is enough to show how important it is to plan ahead before this war.

As time progressed, the flagship of the Pacific Fleet, the Crown Prince, was also repaired and rejoined the Pacific fleet.

This also led to the Pacific Fleet forming a weak advantage over the combined fleets of the island countries, which is why the land battlefield fell into a protracted offensive and defensive battle.

In fact, if it is only about combat effectiveness, the Japanese army is actually superior.After the restoration, this country underwent a large-scale replacement of the equipment of the army and navy, and the training was relatively strict, modeled on the German Empire with the army first and the British Empire with the navy first.

As for the Russian army, except for a small number of elite troops whose training is ahead of the island country's army, the training of most of the troops is worrying, and even their weapons and equipment are very backward.

And because of transportation restrictions, the current island country army in the Far East is almost twice that of the Russian army, and it also has a full advantage in numbers.

If the Pacific Fleet hadn't been able to rely on its weak advantage and occasionally provide a little firepower assistance to the Army, I am afraid that Lushun's defense would not have been so smooth.

Although the current offensive and defensive battle in Lushun still maintains a delicate balance, only Russia and the island countries know the actual huge casualties.

Although these casualties will not seriously damage the vitality of the two countries, but before the strategic goal is not achieved, these injuries are enough to hurt.

So far, the island countries and Russia have spent 3000 million yen and 9000 million rubles respectively in this war, both of which have exceeded 1000 million pounds.

If the Lushun offensive and defensive battle continues to maintain such a balance, the expenditures for the two countries will be huge, and it will also be accompanied by a large number of casualties.

Island countries naturally understand this.And compared to the Tsarist Russian Empire, the island country is the one that cannot lose.

The basic disk of the Tsarist Russian Empire is in Europe. Even if the hegemony of the Far East is lost, it will not have a great impact on the status of the country.

But island nations are different.The basic base of the island country is in East Asia, and it is an island country on the sea.

If the island country fails in this war and loses the navy that it has developed for many years, then the island country's dream of hegemony will be completely shattered, and the island country will become a regional power at most, and it is even more impossible to get involved in the big powers.

The more you think about this kind of thing, the more terrifying it becomes, and the islanders naturally don't want such a thing to really happen.

Fortunately, shortly after the war broke out, the island nation carried out two preliminary mobilizations in the country.

These two mobilizations added nearly 40 available troops to the island nation, half of which had already been dispatched to the battlefield.

In order to obtain the results of the battle earlier and turn the war into an encounter rather than an offensive and defensive war, the island country once again dispatched 20 troops to occupy the eastern and central areas of the battlefield.

Compared with the transportation time of the Tsarist Russian Empire, which takes more than a month, the transportation time of the army of the island country is less than two or three days, which has an absolute advantage.

Things were as expected. After another increase of 20 troops, the ratio of the Russian army to the island nation's army in the Far East came to nearly one to three.

The large number of troops from island countries also made it more and more difficult for the Tsarist Empire to deal with it. Coupled with heavy casualties and insufficient logistical supplies, Lushun gradually faced a crisis.

Of course, with an army of sufficient size, the current battlefield is not one in Lushun, and it can even be called multi-point blooming.

The Japanese army adopted a part to defend and try to conquer Lushun, and a part to attack Liaoyang Shahe and other places in the north.

As the war progressed, the attitudes of island soldiers and Russian soldiers gradually turned into two extremes.

At this time, the samurai spirit of the island country did play an important role. Even if the comrades around them suffered heavy casualties, the soldiers of the island country were not afraid of death and bravely launched a charge.

As for the Russian army, every casualty of a teammate increased the fear on the Russian soldiers' faces.

In order not to affect the interests of Europe, more than half of the troops dispatched to the Far East were temporarily mobilized peasant soldiers.

These people may have been out-and-out farmers half a year ago, but half a year later they were holding rifles of different styles and guarding land in the Far East that did not belong to the Tsarist Russian Empire.

Don't these people want to defend their home and country?Of course they wanted to, but they were even more afraid of death.Because they don't have enough time to train, they have no defense against what is really happening on the battlefield, and fear and panic are born as a matter of course.

At the end of October 1904, the island nation mobilized more than half of its artillery and launched an unprecedented bombing of the Lushun Fortress.

These cannons can be described as varied. If you look carefully, you can even distinguish the different styles of the three countries, including British, German, and American styles.

Of course, the German-style artillery was sold to them by Australia. Australia made a profit of at least 200 million pounds in this war, and even its military factories and military enterprises have expanded a lot.

Russia also fought back at first, and even requested support from the fleet.However, the Island Fleet took the opportunity to challenge the Pacific Fleet. In order not to be attacked, the Pacific Fleet could only form a defensive line in a hurry, and the support for the army was naturally interrupted.

As for the Russian army, the number of artillery pieces was far behind that of the island nation's army. Coupled with the problem of insufficient logistics, after only two rounds of resistance, the reserves of artillery shells were already insufficient.

Of course, the Russian soldiers at this time didn't have any other ideas. They just wanted to find a solid corner to huddle and wait for the bombing of the island country to end.

But what no one expected was that the bombing lasted for several hours. Although it was round after round, the time in between was not enough for the Russian army to counterattack.

What the Russian soldiers didn't expect was that during such a heavy bombing, the island country actually sent a force close to the Lushun Fortress, and boarded the fortress without the Russian soldiers noticing.

You know, shells have no eyes, and the island country still bombarded Lushun Fortress all over the place.

The island army was likely to be overwhelmed by its own artillery fire, but there was no look of fear on their faces.

The Russian soldiers began to panic. They felt that they were at war with the devil.A person who is not even afraid of death is a devil?

At the beginning of October, the fortress of Lushun, which had been holding on for half a year, was finally broken, and the island nation had completed the first step in the war, which was to remove Russia's supply stations in the Far East.

After Lushun Fortress was conquered, the situation of the Far East War took a huge turn.

The islanders once again resumed the state at the beginning of the war. They were unstoppable in the Far East and attacked cities and villages wantonly.

The 2 Russian defenders of Lushun Fortress killed more than 3 people and captured more than [-] people.The Lushun Fortress was also reduced to ruins in this bombing.

The capture of Lushun still had a great impact on the Tsarist Russian Empire.In the past, there were two ways for the Tsarist Russian Empire to transport materials to the Far East. One was through the newly completed Siberia Railway, and the other was sea transportation. After arriving at Lushun Port, it was by land.

But after the fortress of Lushun was conquered, the ports of Lushun became very few.Under such circumstances, sea transportation is basically impossible.The only logistical support that the Russian army in the Far East can rely on is the Trans-Siberian Railway.

At the end of October 1904, under the premise of paying huge casualties, the island nation successively advanced the front line to the north by tens of kilometers in Liaoyang, Shahe and other places.

At the beginning of November, the main force of the Manchurian army went north again and encountered the main force of the Russian army stationed in Fengtian.

At this time, the ratio of troops between the two sides has become 40 to 17, and the army of the island country has an absolute advantage.

More important than the advantage in numbers is Marshal Dashan's unique strategy.

The main direction of the island country's attack is the right wing of the Russian army, but Russia has a reserve force of more than 3 people on the right wing.

In order for the Russians to transfer these reserve forces to the left, Marshal Oyama sent the right-wing Fifth Army to the left wing openly and aboveboard. In fact, he detoured the right wing in secret. defense.

In fact, Russian Marshal Kuropatkin really fell for it. He saw the mobilization of the islanders' troops, so he transferred most of the right-wing reserve team to the left wing to prevent possible storms on the left wing.

But what I didn't expect was that only on the third day, the right wing of the Russian army was violently attacked.

And there are two island armies that have circled to the rear of the right wing, forming an encirclement.

This put the Russian army in a difficult situation.Although the main battlefield is around Fengtian, the front stretches for more than 100 kilometers.

It is impossible to get troops from other regions to come to support in a short time.However, the right-wing reserve force currently has less than 1 people left, and it is impossible to help the right-wing war.

In order to protect the left wing of the army, the two armies on the left wing had no choice but to stand still.Marshal Kuropatkin again ordered the reserves to return to the right flank to protect the right flank positions.

But this is a position that stretches for hundreds of kilometers. The reserve troops are running back and forth like this, and the soldiers are already exhausted.

On the fifth day, the reserve troops returned successfully, without any energy to rest, and went into the battlefield.

Because of the superiority in numbers, the main force of the island nation successively launched attacks on the left wing of the Russian army on the premise of maintaining the onslaught on the right wing.

The attack on the left wing seemed relatively evenly matched, but the purpose of the islanders was only to hold back the left wing of the Russian army.

As the main force of the island nation's army attacked wave after wave, the Russian army's right wing suffered more and more casualties, and the defense line shrank step by step.

In order to save the right-wing position that was about to be lost, Kuropatkin ordered the Russian left-wing to abandon its position and retreat to the north of the Hun River so that it could compress the front and deploy a part of the army to strengthen the right-wing.

But helplessly, the number of troops in the island country is too large, and such a transfer is not enough to make up for the balance of the right wing.

As the Manchuria Army headquarters again mobilized a force to the left flank of the Russian army, the balance maintained by the left wing was also broken, and the left and right wings of the Russian army fell into a disadvantage.

In mid-November, the Japanese army broke through the defense line of the Russian First Army and began to detour to Fengtian from the left.

Now Marshal Kuropatkin really couldn't sit still.Once the island country's army successfully detours, the more than [-] Russian troops in the Far East will be surrounded by the island country's army.

Once the more than [-] troops are lost, the Far East is like a lady who has taken off her clothes and is slaughtered.

In a hurry, Marshal Kuropatkin ordered the entire army to retreat in the direction of Tieling.

Because it was a temporary order, the retreat of the entire Russian army was also quite chaotic.

The cavalry also had the highest priority in the retreat because they did not participate in the encounter.

However, the cavalry's luggage seriously blocked the retreat road, and many soldiers were in disorder, and the various units lost command.

The island army took advantage of the chaos, first launched an artillery attack on the retreating Russian army, and then launched the final attack.

This caused nearly a quarter of the Russian army to fall into the encirclement of the island army, but the main force was also considered a successful retreat.

After a series of bitter battles, the island nation's army temporarily had no spare energy to pursue them. Therefore, the main purpose was to destroy the besieged Russian army.

If the fall of Lushun was the first blow to the Tsarist Russian Empire, then the disastrous defeat in this great battle was the second blow to the Tsarist Russian Empire.

The news of the defeat was sent back to Russia, Marshal Kuropatkin, the commander-in-chief of the Far East, was immediately dismissed, and Li Nie was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Far East Army.

The Russians were not satisfied with the defeat of the war, and started the third round of conscription in the country, and mobilized some warships located in European waters to form the Second Pacific Squadron, in an attempt to restore the maritime superiority in the Far East.

The development of the war to the present has exceeded the expectations of Russia and the island countries.

Although the current situation in the Far East is dominated by island countries, both countries have paid a heavy price for this war.

So far, the troops invested by both sides in this war have exceeded one million, and the total number of troops mobilized has even exceeded 200 million.

Beginning in February at the beginning of the year, the war has continued until November at the end of the year.

At present, both Russia and the island countries have spent more than 5000 million pounds on this war.

Although the island country has achieved its strategic goals, it has also suffered quite heavy casualties.

At least 30 island soldiers died in this war, and [-] soldiers were injured in varying degrees.

Russian troops also suffered heavy casualties.Although the casualties were not as high as those of the island country due to the defensive battle in the early stage, the Russian army gradually suffered heavy casualties in the later encounters.

At least 20 Russian soldiers died in this war, and more than [-] soldiers were lightly or seriously injured.

In mid-December, with the arrival of the Second Pacific Squadron, Russia regained its superiority in the sea.

A steady stream of Russian soldiers also came by the Trans-Siberian Railway, barely maintaining the situation on land.

But this balance is also unacceptable to the two countries.At present, every day the war lasts costs Russia and the island countries at least [-] pounds.

Especially when a large-scale war is launched, the consumption will even be doubled several times.

Which country can afford such a huge consumption?Even the once powerful British Empire was dragged down by such a war of attrition in the two wars, not to mention the Tsarist Russian Empire and island countries whose economy and industry were already very backward.

At the end of December, at the dawn of the new year, the two countries couldn't bear such huge consumption and launched a new round of offensive.

Both Russia and the island nation have been preparing for this offensive for a month, and the accumulated weapons and ammunition are enough to consume for a long time.

Of course, in order to accumulate these ammunition, they also spent millions of pounds and a lot of resources.

However, the result of the war disappointed the two countries. Although the casualties were heavy, the situation was still in a delicate balance.

Although the number of Russian troops is at a disadvantage, the newly supported troops are all elite troops from Europe, and their combat effectiveness is not weaker than that of the island countries.

Coupled with the fact that it is equipped with a large number of new weapons, this is also the reason why it has been able to maintain a stalemate with the island army.

In this way, after going on for more than three months, the Tsarist Russian Empire finally took the lead and couldn't hold on.

However, the island government at this time is not easy to say.This war has cost them more than 6 million yen, and the casualties of soldiers have reached as high as 60.

If the Tsarist Russian Empire hadn't given up first, I'm afraid the island country wouldn't last long.

With the abandonment of the Tsarist Russian Empire, the major powers that were originally behind the scenes also stood on the stage and began to try to mediate the war.

However, the major powers also basically maintained their previous attitudes. Britain and the United States supported the island nation, and Germany and France supported the Tsarist Russian Empire.

Although Austria-Hungary and Germany were allies, Austria-Hungary and Tsarist Russia had territorial disputes and feuds, and therefore, maintained a neutral position in this war.

Unlike in history, although the Tsarist Russian Empire is currently at a disadvantage on land, it has an advantage at sea, and it is already in a relatively balanced state with the island country's army.

This also led to the fact that although the Tsarist Russian Empire accepted the defeat, it was very confident.

As long as the final result of the peace talks is not as desired by the Tsarist Empire, the continuation of the war is inevitable.

During the negotiation period, Russia and the island countries were still in a state of war, and the smoke of gunpowder in the Far East did not stop.

It is precisely because there has been no breakthrough in the war that the island country finally had to compromise with the Tsarist Empire, and the two sides signed a contract that they could barely accept.

Witnessed by the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, and Australia, envoys from Russia and the island countries signed their names, and the Treaty of Portsmouth came into force.

Unlike in history, this contract's weakening of Russia is not so obvious.

First of all, like the Portsmouth contract in history, the Russian Empire did not accept any reparations.

Secondly, the Tsarist Russian Empire does not accept the cession of any colonies and lands to the island country, and what can be accepted is only a part of the interests in the Qing Dynasty.

Although the island country is not satisfied with this result, the plan of the United Kingdom and the United States to weaken the power of the Tsarist Russian Empire in the Far East has been realized. Even if the island country wants to continue the war, the support of the two countries for the island country will also decrease.

What's more, the Tsarist Russian Empire is not without the possibility of victory.Compared with the army, which can obtain a large number of soldiers through mobilization, the navy, which cannot grow in a short period of time, is an important factor in determining the advantage of the Far East.

It is a pity that with the arrival of the Second Pacific Fleet in the Far East, the island country has no possibility of surpassing the Russian Far East Fleet in terms of navy.

Coupled with the fact that the Russian army strictly guards its positions, the continuation of the war will only increase the consumption of the island country.

Whether it is a huge consumption of funds or more military casualties, it is unbearable for the current island government.

Therefore, obtaining part of the interests in the Far East is also a result that the island government can barely accept.

After all, the island country also knows that if it continues to consume, it will inevitably provoke greater anger from the Tsarist Empire.

If Russia took the risk of offending its allies and transferred most of its troops from Europe to the Far East, the balance of war would be tilted in the direction of the Russian Empire.

Although the island nation is said to be at war with the Tsarist Empire, what they are facing is only a part of the power of the Tsarist Empire.

The complete Tsarist Russian Empire is definitely not something that can be defeated by an island country. The people of the island country knew this very well before launching the war.

In April 1905, the Russo Island War, which lasted one year and two months, finally came to an end.This war can be regarded as one of the largest wars in modern times. The two sides mobilized a total of more than 200 million troops, and in this war, more than 30 people were killed and more than 40 people were injured.

The island country has reaped some of the benefits of the Far East and obtained the right to monopolize North Korea, which is a bit of compensation for the misfortune.

At least after this war, European and American countries have begun to attach importance to island countries and regard them as powerful countries, and even have the potential to compete for the bottom powers.

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(End of this chapter)