Kowloon wins

Chapter 1142 Taking Bratsk by Force ([-])

On August [-]th of the third year of Renhe, the First Division of the First Army led by Yue Zhongqi arrived in Xi'an, joined forces with the Seventh Army that had arrived earlier, and formed a westward battalion with the Sixth Army. Prior to this, Shaanxi Governor Li Shuangchun The mobilization of grain, fodder and supplies has already begun. The construction of military stations from Xi'an to Yili is being stepped up. The food, fodder and supplies transferred from various places are also constantly being transferred to the front military stations. Everything seems to be in order, but as the saying goes, there are unpredictable things , while the Qing army was still actively preparing for the war, the Turgai River defense line of the Turkish and Kazakh coalition forces suddenly collapsed. General Lev Tolsky, the defeated general of the Qing army, led [-] Cossack cavalry from The upper reaches of the Turgai River flowed down the river, soaring for thousands of miles, raiding the flanks of the Turkish and Kazakh coalition forces, and attacking with the main force of Grand Duke Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov's forces, defeating the Turkish and Kazakh coalition forces in one fell swoop. Resisting, Kazakh Khan Kaipu and Turghut Khan Ayuqi led more than [-] remnants and fled all the way to Ili.
The failure of the Turkish and Kazakh coalition forces is not surprising in itself. There is nothing else. Although both Turkey and Kazakhstan have received a lot of help from the Qing Dynasty, not only military supplies—many of the weapons replaced by the Qing army are It was given to these two countries, and many tactical instructors were even sent to train the armies of the two countries. However, both countries are nomadic countries, and the population itself is limited. Except for a few very small regular armies, the rest are all It is a militia, and the combat effectiveness itself is not so strong. Facing the superior Russian army, it will be a matter of failure sooner or later. The Qing military has long agreed on this, but the coalition forces of the two countries were defeated. It was so tragic and so fast, but it was obviously unexpected. In this way, a grim reality was placed in front of the Qing military-how to deal with the Russian army's pressure!
On August [-], as soon as he received an urgent telegram from Ili General Tashan, Hong Qing's imperial driver went straight to the General Staff Headquarters, summoned the commanders of various arms and many generals in Beijing, and discussed countermeasures. The previously drawn up war plan against Russia has been changed quite a bit. Early the next morning, the emperor issued a decree, announcing to the world: "The Russians are brutal and have blatantly violated the might of the Qing Dynasty. Their crime is unforgivable. They should be severely punished. Special order The armies going north to the camp immediately attacked and broke through the Bratsk fortress line.

Bratsk, located on the left bank of the upper reaches of the Angara River, was built in [-] AD. In the early years, it was the bridgehead for the Russian Empire to invade the Qing Dynasty. The city was originally not that big, and it was just a small castle. However, since Russia defeated Ili in the second year of Chengde, the city has gained the attention of the Russian Empire. After nearly ten years of construction, it is already the largest city in Eastern Siberia, with more than [-] troops stationed and dozens of fortresses built along the river. Together with the castle itself and the Angara River, which is full of dangerous shoals and rapids, it forms a solid fortress line with only one purpose, and that is to block the Qing army's sight of East Siberia.

"Report to the general, eight miles ahead is the Angara River. Our troops have already reached the river, and no enemy sentries have been found along the way. Commander Zhao (Zhao Shuo) asks for an urgent attack, and the general expresses it."

It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, which was the most suitable time of the year for marching. Although the main force of the Third Army of the Qing Dynasty attacked from the Chita Camp, although the marching speed was not particularly fast, it only took less than ten days. He had already arrived near the Angara River, and just as the army was moving forward, a report horse galloped to the center army, but seeing the knight on the horse quickly rolled off the saddle and got off the horse, he stood up straight body, raised his hand towards Ke Luntai and gave a standard military salute, and hurriedly said a word to report.

"Go back and tell you Master Zhao, don't act rashly, retreat three miles, guard around, and wait for the main force to arrive."

It is certainly a good thing for subordinates to have the determination and courage to fight, but when the enemy's situation is unknown, it is absolutely unacceptable to attack blindly. Ke Luntai knew this very well, and he rejected Zhao, the commander of the first division, with a wave of his hand. Huo please fight.

"Yes!"

The military order was like a mountain, and the communications officer who came to report the matter did not dare to be negligent in the slightest, and hastily complied with the promise. After saluting, he got on his horse and galloped towards the forward army.

"Order: All ministries speed up the march and arrive at the predetermined location. Be sure to secure the camp before sunset!"

Ke Luntai ignored the communication officer's departure, looked up at the sky, waved his hand, and issued a general order. Immediately, the sound of horns sounded, and the army that was walking around immediately moved after hearing the order. Hastily rushed towards the direction of the Angara River...

"The commander is here!"

The night had just fallen, and the temporary war room was already full of people. The officers from all brigades and above of the Third Army had arrived, and they were chatting together in twos and threes. Surrounded by several attendant officers, Tai already strode into the big tent, the generals didn't dare to be careless when they saw this, and they all stood up in unison.

"sit down."

Ke Luntai strode up to the big seat in the middle, looked around at the crowd, pressed his hand, and gave a command with a solemn expression, and soon after seeing the generals all sat down, each of them stood up straight, staring at each other. He squinted at Ke Luntai.

"Chief of Staff Chen, introduce the enemy's situation."

After all the generals were seated, Ke Luntai didn't talk nonsense, raised his hand, and gave orders in a low voice.

"Yes!"

Chen Taihe, a bannerman of the Han Army, graduated from the first batch of the Staff Section of the Artillery Command Academy. The chief of staff of the group army, the rank of lieutenant general, has always been a capable person. Hearing Ke Luntai's roll call, he stood up quickly without saying much, promised loudly, and then directed several staff officers Lifted a large sand table to the center of the war room.

"Everyone, please see that our army is located here. Three miles to the west is the Angara River. This river originates from Lake Baikal and winds for thousands of miles. There are many mountains on both sides of the river. Only the area around Bratsk The terrain is relatively gentle, with the widest part of the water reaching more than one hundred feet and the narrowest point about sixty feet. The current is fast-moving, and the deepest part of the river is about eight feet, making it impossible to ford. On the left bank, with Bratsk as the center, the enemy Blockhouses are set up every half a mile, forming a fortress line. If our army forces a large-scale crossing, it will be difficult to hide from the enemy's investigation, and a strong attack will be disadvantageous, so we can only rely on wisdom."

Chen Taihe cleared his throat slightly, pointed to the large sand table, briefly explained the situation of the enemy and ourselves, and finally came up with a wise suggestion.

"Well, tell me, what suggestions does the General Staff Headquarters have on this?"

Ke Luntai did not comment on Chen Taihe's statement, but asked a question calmly.

"Commander Mingjian, his subordinates think that they should use a frontal attack to attract the enemy's attention, and then sneak across the Angara River from the enemy's flank. From the analysis of the terrain, the area around the [-] Highlands is the most suitable place for smuggling. Narrow, although the Russian army has set up a bunker on the high ground, but due to the terrain, it is difficult for the left and right bunkers to support this place in time. If our army can occupy this place, it will be able to defend it securely. Once the pontoon bridge is built, the enemy's advantage of location will be lost. , It is absolutely impossible to stop my superior force from clearing and suppressing."

Long before the start of the meeting, Chen Taihe had repeatedly deduced the evolution of the battle situation, and he was full of confidence in his heart. Now he spoke carefully, and his confidence was beyond words.

"Do you have any opinions on this tactic, let's talk about it."

Ke Luntai still did not comment on Chen Taihe's proposal, and just nodded indifferently, signaling Chen Taihe to step down first, then looked around at the generals, and asked a question calmly.

"Report to the army commander, the last general asks to lead his troops to seize the three, four and three highlands!"

As soon as Ke Luntai finished speaking, Zhao Shuo, the burly commander of the First Division, stood up boldly and begged for his life loudly.

"Report to the army commander, the last general is also willing to lead his troops to seize the three, four and three highlands!"

"Commander, leave this task to the last general. If you can't take down the three, four and three highlands, the last general will come to see you!"

"Commander, our department asks for orders to attack, and please grant permission!"

……

Since returning from the Western Expedition to Junggar, all the generals of the Third Army have not fought again for several years, and they have already suffocated their efforts to make further achievements. Seeing that Zhao Shuo jumped out first, they all couldn't help it. Standing up, everyone is talking about fighting.

"Zheng Zaishan!"

Ke Luntai was obviously very satisfied with the courage of the generals to challenge the battle, but he didn't intend to let the generals argue endlessly at this moment, but when he saw one of the generals pressing his hand, he signaled the generals to sit down, and then his expression became serious , Named Zheng Zaishan, commander of the Army Reconnaissance Battalion.

"The end is here!"

The reconnaissance battalion was reorganized from the earlier scout battalion. It gathered almost all the elite officers and soldiers in the army and was dedicated to special operations. All officers and soldiers were assigned two ranks higher. It's the colonel, and the only school officer qualified to participate in the military meeting. At a time when all the generals are calling for the battle, he is calm and calm. In his opinion, this kind of sneak attack mission can only be reconnaissance by him. After the camp was completed, there was no need to fight for it at all. Sure enough, Ke Luntai first called Zheng Zaishan's name. Hearing this, Zheng Zaishan was secretly happy, but he never brought it to his face. It was just a respectful acknowledgment.

"I will attack at night the next day. The First Division and the First Brigade will cooperate with your department to take down the three, four and three highlands for me. Is there any problem?"

Ke Luntai glanced at Zheng Zaishan, and asked sternly.

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

Zheng Zaishan was so confident that he didn't bargain at all, so he agreed with a loud voice.

"Very well, the order: All ministries will start logging tomorrow morning, and the next morning, the second and third brigades of the first division will launch a frontal feint attack between the [-]th highland and the [-]th highland, and the second division will launch a frontal feint between the [-]th highland and the [-]st Deploy in front of the [-]th highland, the artillery division of the army is responsible for cooperating, the harder the fight, the better, there must be no mistakes!"

Ke Luntai didn't say any more, stood up suddenly, looked around at the generals, and gave the order to fight in a confident manner, his voice was full of murderous intent...

(End of this chapter)