Chapter 9: The Werewolves of the Kremlin

By August 23, 1904, the Russian army had entered positions as planned, and was deployed as follows: the right flank was the Southern Group (3 corps under the command of Zalubayev); On the left flank was the Eastern Group (2 corps under the command of Bildrlinger), and there were several more corps east of Liaoyang. The pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info another 2 armies as reserves: 1 army each in Liaoyang and Fengtian. The various armies that occupied the positions used 40~50% of their strength as reserves, so that in fact, there were not many Russian troops on the battlefield.

The Japanese deployment was different, it put all its forces into the battlefield and left no reserves, so it was inferior in terms of total force comparison, but it created a force advantage on both flanks of the Russian army. The plan of the Japanese army was to encircle and annihilate the Russian army. The 4th Army attacked from the front, pinning down the main forces of the Russian army; At the same time, the 1st and 2nd armies detoured the left and right flanks of the Russian army from the east and west respectively, with the right flank as the main direction of attack. This is a bold plan to surround the majority with a minority.

Just from the pre-war planning, it can be seen that the Japanese already had a psychological advantage over the Russians. In a series of battles since the beginning of the year, the Russians have performed a great failure to deserve the title of the great powers and the former "gendarme of Europe".

The Russians placed a large number of troops in the rear as reserves, which the Russians used in the face of Napoleon and in the face of Hitler. But at that time, the battlefield was in Europe, and both materials and troops could be replenished continuously.

The battlefield now is the Far East, thousands of miles away from Petersburg, and every shell, every soldier, has to be transported from Europe by means of an unfinished Siberian water pipe. The Japanese dared not leave any reserves and pressed all their forces down, which can no longer be called boldness, but can simply be called arrogance.

If the generals of the Russian army become bold and attack with superior forces, the Japanese will lose the entire war as long as they outflank it once. However, it is normal for the Japanese to gamble on the fortune of the country as a small country against a large soldier.

The Battle of Liaoyang began on August 24, 1904, when the 1st Army made a two-flank detour to the Eastern Group of the Russian Army, in an attempt to draw the attention of the Russian army to the left flank, forcing Kuropatkin to transfer his reserves to the left flank, thereby weakening its right flank and creating a favorable situation for the Japanese 2nd and 4th armies to attack the Russian right flank (main attack).

The fighting on the left flank of the Russian army was fierce from the very beginning. Taking advantage of the exposed flanks of the Russian army, the Japanese side decided to implement a two-flank detour of the 3rd Siberian Army. To this end, the 1st Guards Division of the left flank of the 1st Army, which drove a wedge in the deployment of Russian troops, appeared on the flank of the 3rd Siberian Army. To reinforce the 3rd Siberian Army, the Russian side immediately threw in reserves, including 1 regiment under the command of Colonel Mardinov.

In Liaoyang in August, the weather is at its best. Mardyzhov looked at the empty field, and his blue eyes showed a melancholy look. In front of his eyes was a group of old Russian hairy men who were moving forward in a mess. These people carried rifles and bayonets, kettles and other things around their waists, and they didn't look very reliable.

As an officer from an aristocratic family, Mardyzhov was not as timid as the high-ranking generals of the Russian army, but he also knew that the current Russian army was no stronger than the Japanese on the other side.

"Grom, what do we say we should do against the Japanese?" He lowered his voice and said to an old hairy man who looked like a standing bear next to him, "....... 's command is really terrible, no. ”

"Courage, Martin, just by our courage and bayonets!" With gray eyes, a majestic body, thick chest hair, thick arms and thighs, Grom was the son of a baker from Moscow who had been on duty in the Kremlin before joining the army.

Grom picked up the kettle and poured it into his mouth, and the strong aroma of wine came out instantly. He shouted: "Vodka, God, Tsar!" ”

"Ulla!" The messy crowd of Slavs on the side cheered together, "Ulla, vodka!" ”

Grom shouted a few times, then turned back to Mardinzhov and said, "With our courage, if we have enough courage, we can kill all those yellow-skinned dwarfs!" ”

"Haha, that's right, Grom!" Mardyzhov laughed, "Let's teach those Japanese a good lesson!" ”

"Report!" A herald on horseback rushed over and shouted: "Sir, the Japanese army has appeared on the flank of the Third Siberian Army!" ”

"Huh?" Mardinzhov immediately took out the map from the bag that was straddled diagonally, "Why are the Japanese so fast?" Was it a hasty march after abandoning artillery and heavy machine guns? It's ......"

"The Japanese have already moved to the flank of the Third Army?" Grom is nearly two meters tall, which is considered tall even among Russians. So he didn't ride a horse, but on foot, like the rest of Maozi, with a rifle on his shoulder.

"Not bad," Mardinzhov stared at the map for a few seconds, then said categorically: "Let's go to the side of the Third Army!" ”

"However, this is not the order given to us by the division headquarters," Grom muttered, "and the soldiers should obey the order." ”

"Courage!" Mardyzhov stared at Grom with pale blue eyes and said sternly: "Courage is the best weapon of our Slavs!" The order is for us to go and fight the Japanese, then, let's go and fight the Japanese! ”

Infected by Mardinzhov's courage, Grom also let go of his worries about the military order and responded in a loud voice: "You're right, Martin, let's go kill the Japanese!" ”

"That's it, Grom." Mardyzhov nodded in satisfaction, then straightened up on horseback and said loudly to his subordinates who had formed a long column: "Now, I order you, except for weapons and ammunition, throw everything to the ground, and we will go and kill the Japanese now!" ”

"!" Someone in the crowd shouted back: "Vodka can't be thrown away!" ”

"Well," Mardyzhov reluctantly compromised, "throw away everything except vodka, weapons and ammunition, and push the artillery to the side of the road, untie the reins of the horses, and we will rush to the flank of the Third Siberian Army as fast as possible!" ”

"Okay, you're the head of the regiment, you can do whatever you say." The old Maozi threw all the superfluous things on their bodies to the ground, and then turned westward, and marched sharply towards the flank of the Third Siberian Army.

"Martin, Martin," Grom whispered, walking behind Mardinzhov, "and you'll remember to follow me later." ”

"Huh?"

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." The bear-strong man let out a low laugh, "I'm a werewolf from the Kremlin!" ”