I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 398 Torpedo Night
George couldn’t say what direct connection there was between the collapse of the Yenisei River Bridge and the deterioration of Japan-Russia relations.

However, the collapse of the Yenisey River Bridge and the disruption of the Trans-Siberian Railway will certainly affect the Russian Empire's preparations for war.

Since George was now responsible for the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, Witte immediately sent a telegram to George, hoping that George would organize manpower and material resources as soon as possible to restore the smooth flow of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Only then did George remember that Werther also served as the Minister of Transportation of the Russian Empire.

George is naturally responsible for ensuring the smooth flow of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

But George was unable to ensure the safety of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

It is always easier to destroy than to build.

Not to mention how much it costs to build a bridge over the Yenisei River, the time alone takes a year and a half.

Only a few dozen kilograms of explosives are needed to destroy the Yenisei River Bridge.

George had actually been prepared for this kind of thing.

What Otou unfortunately said was that when Togo Heihachiro was ordered to go to sea, Japan really did not declare war on the Russian Empire.

In order to prevent similar incidents from happening again, George sent a telegram to Witte, hoping that Witte, in the name of Minister of Transport, would ask the governors of various regions to strengthen security on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

On the night when Japan recalled its minister to St. Petersburg, Commander-in-Chief Togo Heihachiro of the Combined Fleet led the fleet to leave Sasebo Naval Port and sail to the Nagayama Islands.

Everyone understands the efficiency of the Russian Empire.

There are no oil paper bags next to the sewers built by the Germans.

Before the governors of various regions had time to strengthen security, another accident occurred on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

When Biendorf, the Russian minister to Britain, sought information from the French minister, the French shamefully betrayed the Russian Empire at the most critical moment and did not tell Biendorf of this situation.

Anyway, the cost of maintenance is paid by the Imperial Ministry of Transport.

Replacing spare parts takes about a week.

George was busy building railways, and the Russo-Japanese War was about to break out.

The American minister to Britain favored war.

The Russian Empire had no idea at this time.

But if it is damaged again, it will take at least three months to prepare spare parts from Amur and send them to the Yenisei River.

Next to the Yenisei River Bridge are the steel structure spare parts that were not used during the construction of the bridge.

This time it was a boulder that rolled down the hillside and smashed the rails.

At this time, Japanese diplomats were still trying their best to spread smoke bombs to the media in Europe, saying that the negotiations between Japan and the Russian Empire had not yet broken down and were still ongoing, and Japan was still working hard to maintain peace.

Togo Heihachiro's mission is to destroy the Pacific Fleet.

However, behind the scenes, the Japanese Minister to the UK, Mr. Lin, had confessed to the British Foreign Secretary, Lansdowne, that war was inevitable and could break out at any time.

George had nothing to say, so he continued to practice——

Lansdowne notified the situation to the American Minister in Britain and the French Minister in Britain respectively.

The French minister to the UK hopes that Britain, the United States and France will be consistent.

Edward VII must have been aware of this situation by this time.

Edward VII did not remind Nicholas.

Like the Second Boer War, the whole world was waiting to see the excitement of the Russian Empire.

Although Togo Heihachiro left the port late at night, St. Petersburg still learned this information through special channels. On February 2, Nikolai sent a telegram to Alexeyev, reminding Alexeyev that it was best to let the Japanese launch military operations first.

But at the same time, if the Japanese combined fleet crosses the 38° north latitude line, then the Pacific Fleet can fire first.

February 2th coincides with the traditional "Candlemas Day" of the Russian Empire. It is also the birthday of the wife of Lieutenant General Stark, commander of the Russian Empire's Pacific Fleet and commander of Arthur (Port Arthur) Naval Base.

Since a British merchant ship arrived in Dalini during the day on February 2 to evacuate overseas Chinese, Starck believed that the Japanese army would not launch an attack on February 8.

On the night of February 2, Stark held a dance on the Pacific Fleet flagship "Petopavlovsk" to celebrate "Candlemas" and his wife's birthday. Alexeyev was also invited to the scene.

At this time, the Pacific Fleet was still in a state of peace, and the squadron was parked in Arthur Outer Harbor. Although the headquarters had issued combat orders, it would not enter combat readiness until February 2.

Therefore, the warship did not open the mine protection net at night, and the entrance to the inner harbor was brightly lit.

Before the dance began, Fleet Chief of Staff Withoeft also confirmed to Alexeyev: "The war will not start."

The dance begins at 7 p.m.

At 8:05, a raid fleet composed of 19 Japanese destroyers broke into Dalini Naval Port and Arthur Military Port respectively, looking for battleships and cruisers of the Pacific Fleet.

The Japanese destroyer fleet came to nothing at the Dalini naval port.

At 0:28, Shojiro Asai led the First Destroyer Fleet to attack the Pacific Fleet anchored in Port Arthur.

The first to attack was the "White Cloud", and the torpedo it fired hit the Pacific Fleet's protected cruiser "Pallas".

Subsequently, the "Asashio" and "Kasumi" launched attacks on the "Peresvet" and "Letvizan" battleships respectively.

Japanese torpedoes are too unreliable.

The torpedoes launched by the "Asashio" and "Kasumi" either missed when they were very close, or they hit without exploding and had no results.

At 0:35, a torpedo launched by the "Akatsuki" hit the battleship "Letvizan".

At 1:45, a torpedo launched by the destroyer "Oscar" hit the battleship "Crown Prince".

On the torpedo night of February 2, although the Pacific Fleet only lost one cruiser and two battleships, these two battleships were the two best battleships in the Pacific Fleet.

In 1898, in order to cope with the challenge of the Japanese Navy, the Russian Navy had to order battleships from the United States and France respectively.

These two battleships are "Letvizan" and "Crown Prince".

"Letvizan" is considered to be the best-performing warship in the Pacific Fleet.

The "Crown Prince" is the prototype of the "Borodino" class battleship, and its performance is also very good.

The Japanese are really lucky.

The war has not yet begun, at the lowest cost——

No price.

Although within five minutes of the Japanese destroyer attack, the Pacific Navy launched a counterattack.

However, all the Japanese destroyers involved in the sneak attack retreated, and the Pacific Fleet had no results.

Miraculously, after the Japanese navy launched the attack, Stark, who was holding a dance party on the "Petopavlovsk", asked what happened. The officer on duty reported that it was live fire, but the headquarters did not ask further questions, and Stark did not follow up. Enter.

It was not until dawn that Starck discovered that the two most powerful battleships of the Pacific Fleet had been seriously damaged and stranded.

At this time, the main fleet led by Togo Heihachiro finally arrived at the sea off Arthur.

(End of this chapter)