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Piaotian Literature of the Fourth Empire of China www.piaotia.com Chapter 460: Grand Duke Nicholas¡¯s Persistence

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    Omsk, located along the Irtysh River, is one of the oldest cities in Siberia.  It was built in 1716 as a military fortress.  In 1782 it became a city in the Tobolsk Governorate.  In 1822, the Omsk Oblast was established with the city as its center. In 1838, the Omsk Oblast was abolished.  It is the largest port along the Irtysh River, an important hub along the Trans-Siberian Railway, and an important highway hub.  Omsk is one of the five largest industrial cities in Russia.  The main industrial sectors are machine and instrument manufacturing and petrochemical industry, forestry and wood processing industry, light industry and food industry.  In order of the number of manufactured products, Omsk ranks fourth in Russia.  After Moscow, Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.

    Although Omsk is important, the number of Russian troops deployed here is not large at the moment. At full count, there is only one division with less than 10,000 troops.  Because all the troops in Siberia have been mobilized and headed to Cheremhovo in the east, hoping to open up the connection with Irkutsk.  However, this is simply in vain.  More than 100,000 troops were easily intercepted by the two divisions of the First Army west of Meget.

    June 9, when the First Cavalry Army appeared in Omsk.  The Russian division commander responsible for guarding this place wisely ordered the surrender.  Although it was only Chinese cavalry that came, he had no confidence that he could hold Omsk with 10,000 men.  Rather than being killed after resisting and Omsk suffering a devastating blow, it would be better to surrender proactively, which would be better for everyone.

    So, the 1st Cavalry entered Omsk without bloodshed and took over the defense here.  All Russian troops who surrendered were imprisoned.  Those local residents are also restricted to their homes and are not allowed to go out.  Anyone who disobeys will be shot to death.

    After taking over the train station, the First Cavalry Army discovered mountains of various supplies at the train station.  Weapons, ammunition, food, etc.  Obviously these supplies were intended to be shipped to Irkutsk, but after Meget was occupied by the Chinese Army, these supplies were stranded here.  This is good, everything is cheaper for the Chinese ** team.  Although these weapons and ammunition were looked down upon by the Chinese Army, these grains were urgently needed by the Chinese Army.  With this batch of food, the Chinese ** team at least no longer has to work hard to transport food from the country, but only needs to transport weapons and ammunition.  In this case, the transportation difficulty will be reduced by at least half.

    The fall of Omsk made Nicholas II furious again.  After Omsk was occupied by the Chinese Army, the connection with Irkutsk was completely interrupted.  Moreover, the more than 100,000 Russian troops who are launching an attack on Meget will also lose support and become a turtle in the urn.  For the current Russian army, this is nothing more than adding insult to injury.

    Nicholas II summoned War Minister Alexei?  Nikolayevich?  Kuropatkin scolded him bloody, and then ordered him to organize an army to recapture Omsk and open the Trans-Siberian Railway.

    Minister of War Alexei?  Nikolayevich?  Kuropatkin was so embarrassed that he had to once again mobilize troops from Europe and appointed Russian veteran Joseph?  Vladimirovich?  Field Marshal Gurko led the army to attack Omsk.  Marshal Gurko, now 71 years old, has a very high reputation in the Russian army.  Minister of War Alexei?  Nikolayevich?  Kuropatkin had no other choice. The Russian army, which had been defeated in consecutive battles, had low morale, and ordinary generals simply could not command the troops to fight against the Chinese Army.  Under such circumstances, he had no choice but to use veterans.  Although Joseph?  Vladimirovich?  Marshal Gurko had retired, but at this time, he still accepted the appointment and began to organize the army to go to Omsk.  However, all this takes time, and Grand Duke Nicholas can hold on in Irkutsk until the Russian army opens the Siberian Railway.

    The three armies and one cavalry corps in the northern battlefield of the Chinese Communist Party completed the encirclement of Irkutsk on June 9.  South of Irkutsk is the Angara River. Now the bridge on the river has been blown up by the Russian army. Although this makes it impossible for the Chinese army to attack Irkutsk through the bridge, it also makes it impossible for the Russian army to attack Irkutsk.  Break out from the south.  Therefore, the Chinese team only needs to complete the encirclement of Irkutsk from the other three directions.  In the encirclement of Irkutsk, the First Army is to the west, the Third Army is to the north, and the Fourth Army is to the east.  Among them, the First Army was originally understaffed. After the battle in the Northeastern battlefield ended, it deployed a division to continue to wipe out the dispersed Russian troops and resistance forces among the Russians in the Northeastern battlefield.  After taking Meget, the First Army once again deployed two divisions to defend Meget from the Russian army attacking from the west.  This left the First Army with only three infantry divisions and corps-direct units.  However, the commander of the northern battlefield, Army Minister Cai Yun, fully considered this point in his arrangements and gave the First Army a relatively light task.  This time for Iraq??Kutsk's main attack still fell on the Third Army.

    On June 10, the First Army, the Third Army, and the Fourth Army launched an attack on Irkutsk.  The Third Cavalry Corps was waiting on the outside.  I have to admit that the defenses in Irkutsk are much stronger than those in Ulan-Ude.  Grand Duke Nicholas was ready for a protracted war in Irkutsk.  Most of the civilians in Irkutsk have been evacuated, and only tens of thousands of people are left in the city. These people have nowhere to go and have to stay in Irkutsk and resign themselves to their fate.  The entire Irkutsk is full of fortresses and firepower points, and it has completely become a fortress.  Moreover, the well-prepared Russian army has concentrated thousands of large-caliber artillery in Irkutsk. In terms of performance, it is not inferior to the partners equipped by the Chinese ** team.  These artillery pieces were imported from Germany and France by Nicholas II with loans from Britain.  Then transported by rail to Irkutsk.  Whether in Ulan-Ude or Vladivostok, the Russian army suffered artillery losses. Therefore, at the request of Grand Duke Nicholas, the Russian army strengthened the construction of artillery in Irkutsk.  This makes Irkutsk's artillery have a combat capability that is not inferior to that of the artillery on China's northern battlefield.

    In the attack on Irkutsk, at 8 o'clock in the morning on June 10, the three armies of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, with a total of more than 1,500 cannons with a caliber of 105 mm or more, launched an intensive attack on Irkutsk.  of shelling.  The Russian army in Irkutsk also launched a tit-for-tat counterattack.  One after another, the artillery shells made a sharp whistle in the sky and slammed into the opponent's position.  From time to time cannons were destroyed and artillerymen killed.  The artillery battle between the two sides was very fierce.  But overall, China still has certain advantages.  Observation balloons are raised on every position of the Chinese artillery, which can effectively provide guidance for the artillery below.  This makes the shelling accuracy of Chinese artillery much higher than that of the Russian army.  Even the Russian army's artillery, most of them are deployed next to the buildings in Irkutsk, and they can effectively rely on these buildings to provide cover.  However, during the shelling, the Russian artillery was still at a disadvantage.

    The shelling lasted for a full hour and a half. After that, the infantry of the three armies launched an attack on Irkutsk.

    The Chinese soldiers jumped out of their positions and attacked the Russian positions.  Behind them, mortars and heavy machine guns provided fire support.  The Russian troops on the defensive position were also desperately using their weapons to shoot at the Chinese soldiers in an attempt to repel the Chinese Army's attack and defend Irkutsk.

    After the fierce fighting began, the entire Irkutsk was shrouded in smoke, and a large number of buildings were destroyed in the fierce artillery battle.  The East Siberian Governor's Palace located in the center of Irkutsk is a key target.  At this moment, the magnificent Governor's Mansion had already been bombed into ruins.  Fortunately, all the people in the Governor's Mansion had evacuated before the battle began, otherwise, there would have been heavy casualties.

    The headquarters of Grand Duke Nicholas is separated from the Governor of Eastern Siberia by a street. It is a headquarters located ten meters lower and can defend against heavy artillery attacks.  This headquarters was built by the engineers specially ordered by Grand Duke Nicholas.  The underground area covers an area of ??more than 300 square meters. Electricity, communication and other necessary facilities are all smooth, and it can effectively command the battle of nearly 500,000 Russian troops in Irkutsk.

    "Order all ministries to not give up an inch of ground and to resist the Chinese attack. If the position of that division is breached, the commander of that division will not have to come back!" Nicholas II ordered with a cold face.  Although the battle has just begun, it is very fierce.  There were many new recruits in the Russian army. In order to prevent these recruits from escaping before the battle, he could only take harsh measures.

    "Yes, Your Excellency the Grand Duke!" Grand Duke Nicholas' adjutant said.

    Grand Duke Nikolai¡¯s face was very serious. If he could still escape in Ulan-Ude, then there was no way out in Irkutsk.  He had received a telegram that the Russian troops stationed in Omsk had surrendered.  The Trans-Siberian Railway was officially cut off by the Chinese Army. Even if he breaks through again this time, he will not be able to escape the interception of the Chinese Army.  Therefore, Grand Duke Nicholas could only fight to the death in Irkutsk this time.  Moreover, he firmly believed that the situation of the war would change soon.  The combined fleets of Britain, France and Russia will soon defeat the Chinese Navy!  (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!)
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