Beiyang 1917

[Text] Chapter [-] Takes Ulan-Ude

------------

On February 1918, 2, Wu Peifu's third division attacked from Kyakhta. Sun Liangcheng led the first brigade-level wheeled armored brigade of the participating army to attack quickly, and took 28 kilometers north of Kyakhta at ten o'clock in the morning. In the small town of Gusino Ozersk, an armored company was left to monitor a battalion of the Tsarist Russian army who refused to surrender by virtue of the town hall building.

The main force of Sun Liangcheng's armored brigade passed through the city and went straight to Ulan-Ude, 110 kilometers to the northeast. This Ulan-Ude is located in the Zabaikal Selenge River Valley, on the right bank of the river, and is an important hub on the Trans-Siberian Railway. In 1918, Ulan-Ude, with an urban population of more than [-], was the third largest city in Eastern Siberia.download

The city of Ulan-Ude was founded by the Cossacks in 1666. The main residents are a branch of Mongolians who believe in Tibetan Buddhism. However, with the development of Siberia by Tsarist Russia in the past 100 years, Russian immigrants accounted for one-third of the local population. Two or more.

A Cossack cavalry regiment of the Russian army was stationed in Ulan-Ude. Because the city is 230 kilometers away from Kyakta on the Russian-Mongolian border, the defenders were completely unprepared for the Chinese armored brigade that suddenly appeared in the south of the city in the evening. The head of the Cossack regiment Colonel Petrovich is hesitating these days whether to respond to the call from the Urals and take his regiment to Ufa to join Kolchak.

Who knows what number that provisional government is, bad news about Petrograd is flying around, the Constituent Assembly has been overthrown, which means that the Land Decree is likely to be implemented, which means that the nobles and landowners have to act like the Tsar Unlucky as well, Petrovich is a typical professional soldier of the Tsarist Russian era, and he has also withstood the test of the Japanese-Russian War. Divide your own land?

"My lord, my lord!... Something is wrong! The checkpoint said that there is an army in the south of the city! Armored vehicles are all over the mountains and plains!" A sweaty orderly rushed into Petrovich's headquarters out of breath and reported!

"What? The Germans are calling?!" Petrovich paled in shock. This guy was just thinking about the information that just came from Ufa. The Bolshevik regime in the west is retreating in great strides. The Germans have already occupied the Baltic coast. The news, when I heard the armored troops appeared in the south of the city at this moment, my head was completely blank for a while, thinking that the German army flew over with wings!

"My lord! It's not German, it's Chinese! Squadron, they said they want to protect the Siberian nationals, and they want us to lay down our weapons and surrender!" The orderly Turkin handed a leaflet to his lord while panting. Well, this fellow was born as a personal servant brought by Petrovich from his hometown on the Don River. When he came to Ulan-Ude, he had to take care of him and run errands for him.

"Pass me the order, the whole regiment must assemble urgently, muster urgently!" Petrovich hurriedly read the flyer in his hand, and couldn't believe his eyes. He tore the leaflet into pieces in a rage, and ordered to assemble!

He knew that the Chinese had taken back Outer Mongolia, and he had also heard about the fact that the Chinese claimed to respond to the declaration of the incomprehensible Soviet Russian new government that they wanted to take back all the ceded land since the Nerchinsk Treaty, but It was in Manchuria and the outer Xing'an Mountains. What does it have to do with Ulan-Ude here?

This is naked invasion!All gather!Follow me to drive out the invaders!While Colonel Petrovich gave the order, he hurriedly dressed and dressed under Turkin's service!

"Master! The Chinese fell from nowhere in the mountains and plains, we... really want to fight?" Turkin muttered nervously as he tied his armed belt for his fat-headed colonel.

"Regiment leader! Regiment leader! Can't fight! There are too many Chinese... I think we should retreat to the west quickly!" Sergei, the chief of staff of the regiment, rushed in with a nervous face, and grabbed his regiment leader yelled.

"What! Are you scared? Those yellow-skinned monkeys thought they were warriors when they took their guns? Now is the time for the Cossacks to defend their motherland! Pass my order, mount the whole regiment, target the south of the city, and drive out all the Chinese!" Petrovich Shout out to your chief of staff!

"Commander, you are outnumbered! Although I don't know when the Chinese came, they are not kind. Did you hear the sound of the planes in the sky just now? Now the city is full of leaflets dropped by Chinese planes They came prepared, and we only have the strength of a regiment. In Chinese terms, if we leave the green hills alive, we will not be afraid of running out of firewood. I think we should withdraw as soon as possible!"

After so much time wasted, the sound of rumbling artillery has already been heard from the south of the city. According to the sound, there is at least one artillery regiment or more, so the Chinese are at least the size of a division. . .Petrovich listened attentively, and the other party was clearly testing the guns. It seemed that the so-called ultimatum and laying down their weapons were just a cover, and the Chinese were murderous!The planes and cannons hit our noses!

In fact, Wu Peifu's combat plan on the western front was quite bold. In 1918, the nighttime combat capability of the air force of the participating army was far worse than that of the daytime. Sun Liangcheng's armored brigade rushed 230 kilometers, and it was already afternoon when it reached the city of Ulan-Ude At 4:[-], there is less than an hour and a half left before sunset, and this time is just enough time for the air force of the participating army that took off from Kyakta to return to the war.

Among the pilots who have been trained in crash courses like the Air Force of the participating army, less than one-third of the pilots can successfully complete the take-off and landing of night flights.

Sun Liangcheng's armored brigade didn't wait for the surrender or counterattack of the Tsarist Russian army. When they attacked Ulan-Ude with a three-way outflank, except for the closed and empty streets at the north gate, there were crowds of families crying in the distance. Shouting to the east of the train station is running!

The Cossack regiment of Petrovich had already withdrawn to Ufa, and the participating army was overwhelmed by 2 fighter squadrons and 3 reconnaissance bomber squadrons that appeared over Ulan-Ude. The appearance of nearly a hundred fighters made the Cossack colonel Sober up.

This battle cannot be fought, and must be withdrawn!The Cossack regiment ran all the way from the north gate of Ulan-Ude, leaving behind [-] local residents in the city. The railway station was crowded with refugees, and there were fleeing crowds everywhere. Both the west and east trains were full.

This has to be praised that Colonel Petrovich is still a guy who can lead troops. His own Cossack cavalry regiment did not fight the refugees in the city to grab the train, but left the city on horseback. There are many stations along the way to the west, and Small towns are often sparsely populated, so if you want to get on the train, you can't mess around in Ulan-Ude, a place close to the city!

Wu Peifu's third division assigned interpreters proficient in Mongolian and Russian to the battalion level because of their experience in regaining Outer Mongolia. Sun Liangcheng's armored brigade quickly entered the city from the south, west, and east. The city was in chaos. Mobs who take advantage of the fire will always appear, and gunfire rang out on the streets soon. Half an hour later, Sun Liangcheng's armored brigade took control of the entire city.

The looting thugs were shot dead, and the belongings scattered on the street were piled up on the square in front of the city hall by the participating troops. The mayor who did not run away led a group of nobles and city hall officials to stand tremblingly under the steps. Greet the new commander of the Chinese Armored Brigade who has entered the city.

Sun Liangcheng set up the headquarters in the city hall, and sent out a police sentry five miles outside the city, while reporting the victory to the division headquarters, and sent people to take over the barracks of the Cossack regiment under the leadership of the local city hall officials in Ulan-Ude Warehouses and arsenals, the mayor of Ulan-Ude, who was in a panic, did not expect that the key to the city hall he handed over was thrown back by the Chinese commander.

Sun Liangcheng gritted his teeth and said something, and when the interpreter translated it, it turned out that the mayor named Saibansti Amati was not a Russian, but a Kazakh intellectual, and Sun Liangcheng asked him to continue to be his The mayor said that we are here to protect the Chinese nationals. The Trans-Siberian Railway and stations will be temporarily under military control, and all official materials and properties will be confiscated, but the lives and properties of Ulan-Ude businessmen and ordinary people will not be violated.

However, the civil affairs in Ulan-Ude remained the same, and the officials of the municipal government hurriedly sent me a safety notice to the streets. Don’t go to the train station to pick up cars in such a cold weather. The trains and railways are temporarily requisitioned by the squadron up!

"This is a city in Russia. We can find a way to raise some food, cloth and wool for labor, but please don't disturb the people!" the mayor said in a low voice.

"Tch, do you think we are robbers? In fact, the people who robbed and robbed your people on the street just now are all locals. Tell your people to quickly requisition some school classrooms and warehouses and come out to live in us! Don't worry, Chinese soldiers are arbitrarily Anyone who breaks into a private house will be shot!" Sun Liangcheng waved off the anxious mayor.

At 1918 pm on February 2, 28, the leading armored brigade of the third division of the participating army took Ulan-Ude and cut off the Siberian Railway east of Lake Baikal!