In the eyes of Alexander III and other high-ranking government officials, the shore defense ships were nothing more than "small boats fluttering in a bathtub", and in the face of the powerful British navy, they could only be "poor little toys" to be bombarded at will, and Alexander III wanted a powerful fleet that could compete with the British. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The Admiralty and the Foreign Office were staunch supporters of the Tsar, believing that a strong naval fleet was the most powerful tool in the years of "gunboat diplomacy" to assert Russia's strength and exert pressure on other countries.

Now that the tsar has set the tone, it is natural that the Russian naval strategy should revolve around ironclads and the Grand Fleet. Kondrachenko's good friend, a rookie of the Admiralty, Colonel Makarov, head of the Organization and Tactics Department, proposed the first plan for operations in the Baltic Sea, which combined the main fleet with a fleet of torpedo boats. Makarov believed that the next war would not last long, and that Britain would concentrate its forces on launching a surprise attack on Russia. The main task of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea was to prevent British warships from approaching the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland and threatening St. Petersburg. It was not only the political center of Russia, but also concentrated a large number of industrial resources, which was of great significance to Russia's persistence in the war.

However, at present, the Russian Navy has only a few ironclad ships with a small number and relatively backward performance that can be used, and even if the ironclad ships under construction are counted, the number of Russian capital ships is pitifully small compared to the British Navy. Therefore, in Makarov's battle plan, mine-strike ships, torpedo boats (the role is to force the stronger enemy fleet to retreat into the harbor or retreat to the open sea for fear of the power of the torpedoes) and submarines (although the performance is still extremely unreliable) will be the first line of defense in the Baltic Sea, and they will use the labyrinthine group of islands and reefs along the Gulf of Finland as their base, and after them, they will lay mines in a large area to the north and south respectively with Gogland Island as the center, as the second line of defense; Ironclads are deployed behind mine arrays as the third line of defense, and they will resist for as long as possible. Although this plan was quite conservative, many Russian naval officers privately believed that it would be difficult to accomplish with the current strength.

With the support of the tsar, the Admiralty agreed to Makarov's proposal, but the Navy Staff made certain amendments, namely that "the Baltic Fleet is building a 'forward position' at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland", that the fleet could "make initial resistance with the help of minefields and surface ships", and that "positions near Gogland Island must be used as the main defensive position." Thus, the idea of placing "mine-shore artillery positions" at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland became the basis for all subsequent Russian tactics in the Baltic. The core of this tactic is to limit the approach of the enemy's main fleet with large minefields, and at the same time use coastal artillery and surface ships against the enemy's minesweepers. In terms of the special hydrological conditions of the Gulf of Finland, with the cooperation of minefields, shore guns and surface ships, the Russian Baltic Fleet, no matter how weak, can generally prevent the enemy from attacking St. Petersburg.

Thus, under the guidance of this theory, the construction of coastal defense fortifications along the Baltic Sea coast of Russia was vigorously carried out, one after another fortifications were erected, and the villages and towns along the coast disappeared one after another, and were replaced by fortresses, ports, and fortresses.

Kondrachenko was pleased with the great changes brought about by the Tsar's adoption of his friend Makarov's advice to the Baltic region, which meant the dawn of a new era for the Russian Navy.

Because of Makarov's relationship, Kondrachenko's own fate was changed.

Makarov returned to serve in the Navy after getting the Tsar's ****, he did not forget his former cellmate Kondrachenko, after Makarov made many suggestions to the Tsar, the Tsar also gave Kondrachenko ****, but because of Kondrachenko's "serious dereliction of duty", he was turned white, demoted to the lowest level of the army, and started from scratch.

Kondrachenko not only did not complain about such a punishment, but was also very grateful - after all, he could return to the military life he loved. Due to Kondrachenko's mastery of military affairs and his great military talent, he was soon promoted, and his rank was soon promoted to the rank of captain.

Kondrachenko was confident that he, like his friend Makarov, would make a special contribution to Russia.

Of course, if he wants to continue to be promoted, he still needs to get the current commander first......

"By far this is by far the worst place we've ever been." When the commander arrived in the afternoon, he said, "There is no convenience, there is nothing to play with, and the brigade headquarters is stationed above us." There was a small hotel in the place, which could seat about twenty people—of course, officers were not allowed to enter this place; There was also a commissary of the three armed forces in the camp. I'd like to go to the rear for a transport in a week. There's also a mansion ten miles away, and by the time you get there, it's all over. The first concern of all the officers was to organize entertainment for the soldiers of their company. ”

"Medic, I want you to take a look at the pools and see if they're suitable for bathing."

"Yes, sir."

"The brigade headquarters is counting on us to clean the house for them. I thought that some of the unshaven officers I had seen roaming around the headquarters and doing nothing would save us from this trouble. But...... Captain Kondrachenko, you go to the miscellaneous men in a group of fifty, and then at ten forty-five go to that house and report to the battalion commander; He'll give you an account. ”

"Yes, sir."

"It seems that our predecessor was not very bold. This valley has a lot of potential for assault training and artillery firing. Weapons training officer, go reconnoiter this morning and set things up before the brigade headquarters arrives. ”

"Yes, sir."

"I'm going to personally go out with my adjutant to scout the training area. Does anyone know this place? ”

Kondrachenko did not speak.

"Then that's it, let's get to work."

"On its own, this old mansion is truly remarkable," said the battalion commander, "but it's a pity that it was so badly destroyed." ”

He was an old, discharged and reappointed lieutenant colonel from the army, who had traveled miles from outside. They met in an open space in front of the gate, where Kondrachenko and his assembled half company of soldiers stood by.

"Please come in. I'll take you everywhere. There are a lot of houses in this place, but we only requisitioned the first floor, and there are five or six bedrooms. The rest of the upstairs is private property, mostly crammed with furniture. ”

"Now this is the last place where the clerk is settled; Anyway, there are plenty of rooms. You see, I've had the walls and the fireplace covered with planks—and there's a valuable old work underneath. Hey, it looks like someone is mischievous here, a bunch of poor people who are doing sabotage, these soldiers! It's a good thing we found this place, otherwise you'd have ruined it.

"It's another big house, and it used to be all tapestries and velvet embroidery. I suggest you use this room as a conference room. ”

"I'm just here to clean, sir. Later, someone from the brigade headquarters will come and assign a room. ”

"Oh, well, you've got an easy job; The last group of people to come is really good. But they shouldn't have made the fireplace look like this. How did they get it? The fireplace seems to be very sturdy. I wonder if this fireplace can be repaired?

"I reckon the Brigadier will use this room as their office; The previous chief did just that. There are a lot of paintings in this room that can't be removed, and they are painted on the walls. As you can see, I've covered the wall as much as I can, but a soldier can do anything—like a brigade commander did in that corner. There was also a painted room, under the outer pillars—all modern paintings, and if you ask me, I must say that it is the best thing in the house; It turns out that this is the Ministry of Communications, and they have made a mess of it, which is really unreasonable. ”

"This ugly room was originally used as a dining room, so I didn't cover the walls of this room; Even if it is destroyed, it will not matter much. This place always reminds me of a rather luxurious auction shop, you know - it's called a 'Japanese-style room'...... This is the reception room......"

It didn't take long for them to browse through the empty echoing rooms. Subsequently, they came out and walked onto the platform.

"This house is the toilet and toilet for officers of other ranks, and I can't guess why they built the toilet in this place. This place was like this before I took over the job. This was originally separated from the front. We paved the path through the woods to connect it with the main road, which was not very elegant, but it was practical. There are so many transport vehicles coming in and out that it's also a mess in the place. Look, some daredevil, impartially, is passing through the middle of the boxwood hedge, knocking down all the railings; Or an ox cart did it. You might think that at least a pack of rhinos did it. ”

"Hey, if you've seen all the places, I'll go. Good luck today. ”

His orderlies threw a cigarette into the fountain's dry pool, saluted, and opened the carriage door. Kondrachenko saluted, and the battalion commander's carriage drove away, passing through the gap in the woods on the newly opened gravel paved road.

"Oleg," called Kondrachenko, who had already seen his men start to do it, "do you think I'll let you take care of this group for half an hour?" ”

"I've been wondering just now, and I don't know where we can get some tea."

"For Christ's sake," Kondrachenko said, "they are just getting to work. ”

"Everybody's tired of it."

"Tell them not to let up."

"Okay."

Kondrachenko knew that if the British did come, everything would be different.

In fact, the British were already on their way to the Baltic.

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Koukoukoukou (to be continued.) )