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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 373: Capture of Temple Street

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    The next day, there was a gentle breeze and the weather was surprisingly good. Under the warm spring sun, the temperature also rose a lot. The landing field of the coalition forces outside the Temple Street Fortress was still an extremely busy scene.

    On the first night of landing, the more than 1,300 Taiping soldiers who landed that day spent their time in high tension. When they finally fell asleep for a while in the second half of the night, the horses of the damn cavalry regiment were frightened by something unknown.  , rushed out of the temporary stable, causing the entire military camp to become extremely chaotic.  After getting the horses in place, the Taiping soldiers were finally able to lie down. The Taiping cavalry who went to the rear of Temple Street to conduct reconnaissance came back on horseback and galloped noisily in the camp, making the Taiping soldiers completely sleepless.  But they brought back good news: there was no trace of Russian reinforcements.

    After Tan Shaoguang asked for details again and again, his hanging heart was finally relieved. The Taiping Army had just landed. They were not familiar with the terrain and geography here. The local people were slaughtered and there was no guide at all. In addition to the previous  The news that the Russians had 12,000 cavalry was too shocking. Although Tan Shaoguang said he didn't care, he was still very careful in his actions.

    What he was most worried about was the night of the landing. If the Russians sent a large number of cavalry to attack at night, they would definitely bring huge losses to the Taiping Army. Unexpectedly, the Russians showed no sign of reinforcements on Temple Street. This greatly shocked Tan Shaoguang.  He breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that his opponent was just bluffing. The King of the West was right. Russia did not have large-scale combat troops in the Far East.

    Since there were no reinforcements, Tan Shaoguang certainly would not miss the opportunity. After dawn, he ordered the cavalry regiment to continue to serve as security and reconnaissance missions to the north and west. The troops who landed on the first day and the follow-up troops who landed one after another began to attack the Temple Street Fortress regardless of fatigue.  attack.

    After receiving the order, the soldiers of the infantry regiment quickly separated from the linear array amid loud shouts from officers at all levels.  They crouched and began to approach the first trench of the fortress in a very unique wave-shaped skirmish line.

    There was no artillery preparation, because the artillery fire of the coalition fleet bombarded all the visible targets on the first day. Both Tan Shaoguang and Grant believed that shelling the dilapidated first trench again would not achieve any results.

    Su Ji walked slowly in the second row of skirmishers, and the first battalion he led was at the front.  As expected, there was no resistance before entering the first trench. The entire Temple Street Fortress was still silent, making people wonder whether the Russians were repulsed by yesterday's artillery fire.  Was the 500-person death squad yesterday the Russians¡¯ last counterattack?

    Behind the first trench is a large open space, and it takes a full three to four hundred meters to reach the second trench and the entrance to the fortress. Although Su Ji knew that the Russian muskets would not be able to hit him at this distance.  The skirmish line brought many casualties, but he was still unwilling to be exposed in the open area, so he ordered the soldiers to speed up and rush over.

    When we are halfway there.  The wooden gates at the three entrances of the Temple Street Fortress suddenly opened, and hundreds of Russian cavalry swarmed out. They wore gray velvet hats, gray military coats, and blue breeches.  Shiny black cowhide riding boots, with a carbine slung on his shoulder.  Two crossed bullet belts on the chest.  There was also a saber at the waist. Many of them had thick beards and rushed towards them with murderous intent.

    After seeing this, Tan Shaoguang let out a long breath and said: "Commander Mao Zi on the opposite side is an idiot. If this cavalry came to attack us last night, we might have to retreat to the sea."

    Grant on the side frowned and said: "They are Russia's elite Cossack cavalry. Although they are very powerful, their number is not large, and there are even fewer in the Far East. There are only more than 300 people in this cavalry. I think it should be Muravyov  Maybe it¡¯s the trump card in his hand or his bodyguards. Tan. Your infantry will suffer.¡±

    Tan Shaoguang understood what Grant meant. The Su Ji First Battalion at the front was only two hundred meters away from the cavalry. The artillery behind and the warships on the sea did not dare to fire at such a close distance. They were worried about accidentally injuring their own people.  The distance of two hundred meters was enough for the cavalry to charge forward. At the same time, in such a short period of time, it was impossible for Su Ji's infantry to retract from the skirmish line formation to a square formation against the cavalry.  Their only chance was to turn around and run back to the first trench, and then defend it. But could they outrun the cavalry?  How would the front-line Taiping Army officers choose?  Grant was prepared to accept defeat.

    Surprisingly, the officers at the forefront of the Taiping Army did not choose to retreat. The more than 100 infantrymen in the first row of skirmishers at the front stopped and followed them to choose their nearest partners to form groups of five to ten, forming small groups.  In the phalanx, the shining bayonets were already raised, and they began to fire muskets.

    Although the number of skirmishers in the first row was limited, they still caused some trouble to the charging Cossack cavalry. They specialized in beating cavalry mounts. After the huge war horses fell to the ground, many?? will affect the cavalry charge behind them, so that the Cossack cavalry cannot use their full speed.

    At the same time, the skirmisher lines starting from the second row quickly gathered together to form two larger hollow squares. Three rows of soldiers were arranged. The first row held their bayonets diagonally upward, and the second row held their bayonets flat.  The third row of soldiers took aim and fired.

    When the Cossack cavalry rushed in front of the small square formation, the Taiping infantry did not panic, but chose to confront the cavalry directly.  It has to be said that the Cossack cavalry's equestrian skills and swordsmanship are very powerful. Dozens of Taiping soldiers were cut or hit in the first encounter, but their bayonets also caused considerable losses to the Cossack cavalry.

    Grant looked at Tan Shaoguang doubtfully and said, "Are all the skirmishers in the first row deserted?"

    Tan Shaoguang said expressionlessly: "When necessary, the vanguard is used to abandon it."

    Grant took a breath. Although he felt a little incredible, he knew that the choice of the frontier Taiping Army officer was the one with the least loss.

    Sure enough, due to the obstruction of the first row of skirmishers, the Cossack cavalry wasted some time. The more than 400 Taiping troops behind them had formed a hollow phalanx and began to fire muskets at them. When they followed them to attack the phalanx, they were met with even greater attacks.  casualties.

    The collapse of the Cossack cavalry came later. After they suffered two-thirds of their casualties, most of them began to retreat.  The few Mongolian Cossack cavalry who rushed in front were either shot to death with rifles or stabbed to death with bayonets.  Seeing that he could not defeat the enemy in front of him, the commander of the Cossack cavalry ordered a retreat.  During the retreat, this Cossack cavalry remained fierce.  Under the fire of muskets, they actually did not collapse. When they withdrew from the firing range, there were less than a hundred Cossacks left, and the Taiping Army also suffered more than a hundred casualties, most of which were scattered members of the first row.  soldiers.

    When the Cossack cavalry returned to the fortress, the coalition's shore artillery and naval guns began to spray flames again, and the Temple Street Fortress was once again shrouded in fire and smoke.  This cavalry may be the last counterattack force of the fortress, or the Russians may have no courage to resist anymore, and then it will be easy to capture this relatively simple fortress.  An hour later.  The Russian double-headed eagle flag was lowered on Temple Street Fortress, and hundreds of Russians chose to surrender.

    At this moment, the sun has set to the west, and the dusk sun weakly reflects the sparkling golden light on the sea level. The masts of the coalition ships at the Heilongjiang outlet are still upright and tall under the residual light, as if they are invincible.  Like a god of war.

    Grant sat on a rock on the high ground.  He took off his leather shoes and poured out the mud and sand in his boots.  Watching the busy landing boats on the sea.  The huge beach was full of people and horses neighing. Taiping soldiers stepped onto the beach one by one and lined up to assemble at the campsite. The Indians gathered together to enjoy the meager food after a day's work. The cavalry horses  Running around from time to time, the priests accompanying the army were busy preaching and comforting, and some reporters accompanying the army set up cameras to take pictures.  Everything seems so chaotic and chaotic. Will the Russians send troops to counterattack tonight?  Why is there still no trace of the main force of the Russian Far East Fleet?  Grant didn't know, but one thing was for sure, no matter what, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

    It¡¯s quiet at night.  Also unable to sleep was Muravyov, the Russian governor of Siberia who was far away in Nerchinsk.  He only received news from the defenders of Temple Street at noon today that the British and French forces had begun to land and besiege Temple Street.

    Damn poor communication. Muravyov is confident that if he knew that the coalition forces landed yesterday, he would definitely send cavalry to raid the coalition camp last night and drive the coalition forces back to the sea.  But the best opportunity had been missed at this time. Muravyov stationed his own Cossack cavalry guard on Temple Street. He now only hoped that this cavalry could play some role or break out.

    The British and French coalition forces want to capture the Temple Street Fortress to seal off the Heilongjiang seaport. Muravyov does not mind giving up here temporarily. He knows that the ultimate goal of the coalition forces is the Petropavlovsk military port.

    Petropavlovsk is the most important military port in the Russian Far East and the capital of the Kamchatka Peninsula. It is also the largest city on the Kamchatka Peninsula with a population of more than 50,000. It is also the oldest city in the Russian Far East. It was founded in 1740.  The name comes from the St. Peter and St. Paul of Bering's fleet.

    According to the planned strategy, the Russian army should still defeat the coalition forces here. Petropavlovsk was built on a hill and surrounded by volcanoes. Therefore, the horizon cannot be clearly seen from any corner of the city.  The barrier can very well hinder the performance of the coalition navy. Muravyov believes that he can stop the British and French coalition forces here.  So he didn't mind giving up Temple Street and some other ports. As long as Petropavlovsk remained, the Far East would still be Russian.

     At the same time, he was also deeply worried. The news reported that the enemy was a yellow army with thousands of people, and they were landing from the ship one after another.  Muravyov was very surprised. Where did Britain and France recruit this army? If the number of the coalition forces was more than 3,000, it would indeed be a threat to Petropavlovsk.  But at this time, he could no longer think about it so much. He was going to Petropavlovsk immediately, and he wanted to guard it personally. He only gave the Russian army on Temple Street an order to hold on.  However, Muravyov knew that the only two thousand troops on Temple Street could not stop the coalition forces. Except for the Cossack cavalry, most of them were just temporarily organized militia.  (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature. The novels will be better and updated faster!
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