Chapter 6 Lushun

Hebei and Shandong, Shanxi, were not mobilized, but production had already begun to shift to a wartime system. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 Moreover, the Shijiazhuang Infantry Academy began to recruit again, and those soldiers and junior officers who had performed well in battle were also sent to the corresponding institutions at all levels for training.

Reserve warehouses have been set up everywhere, non-commissioned officers and officers have been removed from leave, and infantry regimental infantry brigades, which had been cut off and only shelves, have begun to be slowly replenished. It's just that these are all going on slowly, so they don't cause waves in the outside world.

At this time, Japan had already achieved superiority in the field, and the Russians were constantly retreating on all fronts, but the superiority in the field could not be completely transformed into victory on the battlefield.

As long as Arthur remained in Russian hands, its fleet could at any time threaten the sea lines of communication of the Japanese troops who landed at "South Manchuria." Without the occupation of Arthur, the Japanese army could not conduct large-scale ground operations in the northeast. Therefore, for nearly one month, the Japanese side actively prepared for the second attack on Arthur, specially organized the 3rd Army to carry out this task (the 2nd Army had been ordered to go north), and appointed Nogi Noshinori as the army commander. This person served as a brigade commander during the First Sino-Japanese War and conquered Lushun in one fell swoop. The 3rd Army was equipped with mostly siege artillery.

At the same time, Nicholas II instructed the commander-in-chief of the Russian Army in the Far East, Kuropatkin, to launch an offensive, holding him "responsible for the fate of Arthur." Petersburg warned Kuropatkin that the loss of Arthur "would be the heaviest new blow, which would damage not only the political and military prestige of Russia in the Far East, but also in the Near East, Central Asia, and Europe." Undoubtedly, Russia's enemies will take advantage of this to embarrass us as much as possible, and friends will abandon Russia as a weak ally. ”

Under pressure from the tsarist government, Kuropatkin reluctantly sent 1 corps (the 1st Siberian Army under the command of Starkelburg) south to support Arthur. On June 14~15, 1904, the army encountered the Japanese 2nd Army in the area of Deli Temple and Wafangdian, and the Russian army was defeated and retreated in disarray. Since then, Lushun's connection with the main forces of the Russian army in the northeast has been completely cut off.

In order to attack Lushun, the Japanese army had to ensure the safety of the rear of the 3rd Army so that it would not be attacked by the Russian forces assembled in the area south of Liaoyang. Therefore, in late June 1904, the 3st Army, the 2nd, and 4th Armies (landing from Dagushan) began to move in the direction of Liaoyang in an attempt to contain the Russian army there.

On June 26, 1904, the Japanese army resumed military operations on the Liaodong Peninsula. However, after occupying commanding heights such as Yokoyama, it turned to the defense and waited for reinforcements. One month later, the 3rd Army resumed its offensive against Arthur. At this time, the 44th and 7th divisions of the Russian army, defending the passes on the periphery of Arthur, had about 28,000 troops, 110 artillery pieces, and were supported by warships. But under the command of Stessel, they were defeated one after another.

On July 30, 1904, the Russian army abandoned the last natural barrier on the periphery of Arthur - Wolf Mountain, where the Fokker division only held out for half a day. On the same day, the Russian army began to withdraw into the fortress. Even the Japanese did not estimate the retreat of the Russian army so quickly.

Since both Russia and Japan were equipped with a large number of rapid-fire guns after the chaotic battle in the Gengzi period, the casualties of both sides in the field battle were more bloody, and the losses of both sides were greatly increased.

From the outbreak of the war to the end of July 1904, the defense of Arthur Fortress was strengthened for nearly half a year. The defenders increased to 50,000 men, 824 guns and 162 machine guns. The Navy has 38 warships. But the material reserves were not enough to cope with the long siege. For example, artillery shells, on average, have only 600 rounds per gun.

After the outbreak of the war, the Chinese government vigorously tried to sell war materials, including artillery shells, to the Russians. Because of the low price of Chinese goods, the Russians were very impressed, but the Chinese refused to accept rubles, only pounds, francs and other currencies, and in addition, they only accepted gold.

Although the Russians had a lot of gold, at that time they thought that they could quickly say victory, so they rejected the Chinese's kindness. By the time the Russians regretted it, Arthur was already surrounded. At this time, even if you have money, even if you buy supplies, you can't send them in.

The fortifications were not strong and poorly camouflaged. In particular, the incompetence of the command. Stessel, who was in charge of the defense of Arthur, was a often defeated general, and from the beginning of the fall of Golden State, he advocated abandoning all important places on the outskirts of Arthur, retreating into the fortress, and waiting for reinforcements. Even Kuropatkin felt that this man was unfit to continue in command, and ordered him to hand over command to General Smirnov. But Stepel concealed the telegram from Smirnov, so that the latter did not know about his "appointment" until after the end of the war. The commander of the fleet, Witherft, also stressed that the enemy was strong and weak, refused to go to sea, and always cowered in the harbor.

The Chinese side continued to maintain neutrality, and at the same time, the field hospitals set up in Liaodong in western Liaoning began to receive a large number of seriously wounded from both sides. The Chinese government claims that soldiers and officers will receive the best possible treatment if they are willing to pay enough hard currency.

Even if there is no hard currency, as long as you are willing to serve the Chinese government for three years after your injury, you can get free treatment. At the beginning, neither Japan nor Russia sent their wounded to hospitals on Chinese-controlled territory, but as the battle progressed, the brutal war caused a large number of light and serious wounded on both sides, and the medicines stored on both sides were sharply depleted, so those seriously wounded who were judged by military doctors to be incurable were thrown out as a burden.

At first the seriously wounded, and then the wounded officers also learned that the Chinese could receive far more treatment than their own military doctors could provide. Sulfonamides and other drugs that are expensive on the market can be used in unlimited quantities in Chinese hospitals.

The wounded who were sent to the Chinese side were first urgently stopped bleeding, bandaged, and cleaned in the field hospital, and then sent to the army hospital in the rear, and after emergency rescue, those who survived were sent to various sanatoriums for placement. And those who can't survive have become training materials for trainee military doctors.

Such a tertiary medical system is not found in countries such as Japan and Russia, which do not care about the life and death of soldiers, and even Britain, the current world hegemon, does not have either. Wounded soldiers are demoralizing, especially those who are seriously wounded and those who die from worsening injuries.

Whether it was to get rid of the burden or to improve the soldiers' will to fight, the generals on both sides began to throw more and more soldiers out.