"Cannonballs—"

As soon as the day dawned, there was a heart-rending shout from the observation post on the position, and the few soldiers in the trenches all subconsciously hid in the nearest bunker with their heads in their hands. In fact, there is no need for observation posts to shout that everyone knows that the shells are coming, because the sound of the shells whizzing through the air resounded throughout the position, and experienced soldiers can hear from the more dense shells breaking through the air, and the intensity of this shelling is much greater than the previous three days. But the bunker was already overcrowded, and those who came behind could only huddle around the door, praying that the shells would not just land at the door.

As the command of the front, not only are the fortifications more fortified, but also not as crowded as the bunkers of ordinary soldiers. Anton, who is the head of the regiment? Ivanovic? Denikin had been staying here early, waiting for today's Chinese offensive action, and at this moment he was holding a telescope and looking to the east. There, the Chinese Army has amassed more than 50,000 troops, and a 100,000-strong Northeast China Corps is heading here. Because of the destruction of the Far Eastern Railway, the Northeast Chinese Corps can only march on foot with heavy equipment, otherwise the railway can transport the heavy artillery needed by the Chinese army directly to the front line, which may not only be Karachinsk, but perhaps even Omsk has been occupied by the Chinese.

It was already the third day of the Chinese army's attack on Karachinsk, and every time it was dawn to launch an artillery bombardment, and then the Chinese army would attack on artillery points when the artillery fire was extended. Even when the Chinese artillery had just begun to extend its fire, the soldiers hiding in the bunkers rushed to their positions, and they were still faced with Chinese bayonets. The Chinese infantry and artillery were perfectly coordinated. The Chinese infantry was so out of range of the shells that the Chinese infantry could always attack the position before the soldiers were ready.

For the first time, the main forces of the Chinese and Russian armies faced each other head-to-head. Russia was caught off guard by the sudden tactics of the Chinese, if it were not for Denikin himself leading the daredevils into battle. Perhaps Karachinsk has long since fallen. On the morning of the first day of the confrontation between the two armies alone, in just four hours, Denikin, as the commander of the regiment, had already personally acted as a daredevil four times. Fortunately, the Chinese soldiers were not determined to capture the position, and they would always retreat under resolute resistance. However, the retreat of the Chinese army also made Denikin unbearable, they would always throw piles of grenades at the withdrawn positions, and use the explosion of the grenades to cover the orderly withdrawal of the army, and then the Chinese artillery would make the pursuing Russian troops cry......

The Russian army built a depth of eight kilometers in Karachinsk, and with this trench effectively blocked the Chinese attack. This is still thanks to the blessing of the Japanese, which is to prevent the Chinese from forcibly building like the Japanese. It's still very rudimentary, though. But when the trenches and cross-arranged machine guns convinced the Russians that they were enough to kill and wound the approaching Chinese, the Chinese did not expect to change their fighting style.

The Chinese played completely differently from the Japanese, and the Japanese were so strong that they were so fast that the Russian soldiers were not in a hurry to prepare. The Chinese marched slowly and the attack was fought in a decent manner, but the Chinese made it impossible for the Russian soldiers to prepare with perfect infantry and artillery coordination.

The Chinese infantry stepped on the artillery point for a morning to make Denikin unbearable, and in the afternoon, the Chinese changed their fighting style again. The time of the shelling is no longer fixed, and it is half an hour at a long time. It can be as short as more than 10 minutes. It was only after the extension of Chinese artillery fire that Denikin ordered the soldiers to enter the battle position, and when the infantry that was not Chinese came ushered in another round of shelling by Chinese artillery...... The irregular and changeable tactics of the Chinese made it impossible for the Russian officers and soldiers to adapt. The trenches filled with gunsmoke and dust could not see far away, and the Chinese soldiers never shouted and charged. They always quietly rushed until they threw grenades into the trenches before shouting and charging. The earth-shattering cry that was close at hand had startled even Denikin, who had remained on the front line to observe, let alone the peasants who had just enlisted in the army. However, Denikin could only send out his soldiers again and again after the Chinese artillery fire was extended, otherwise no one knew when the Chinese soldiers would be bent on their waists. Cross and rush up.

In just two days, the Russian army has lost five kilometers of depth to the self-conceived impregnable position. If the last three kilometers are lost, there will be no more geographical advantages for the Russian army to use behind the flat plains. Karachinsk can be declared occupied by the Chinese. How many times has Denikin personally fought in battle? Denikin himself can't remember, if he hadn't been injured in the Chinese raid in the middle of the night the day before, maybe he would have to rush up again with a dare to die today. But who else can you bring? The elite team he brought with him when he set out from Omsk has been lost in two days of fighting, countless old faces have disappeared, and now they are all recruits who have been replenished by the division headquarters, relying on these undertrained recruits to act as death squads? Denikin shook his head. But at this moment, the second shelling of the Chinese began.

After a few breaths of warning from the observation post, a dense cluster of black spots with the whistling of death appeared in the eastern sky, and they fell on every position in Karachinsk, rising mushroom clouds. The fortifications collapsed under Chinese fire, and the potholes blown out by the explosion spread throughout the position. However, the Russians were used to it, and as long as they waited for the shelling to pass before repelling the Chinese charge, they could repair the fortifications again. This is also the advantage of poor fortifications, a shovel is enough. Of course, the effect of simple fortifications is relatively simple, but it is better than nothing. Winding trenches can effectively reduce the casualties of soldiers, which is still learned from the Chinese.

"The Yellow Pigs are cowards, and they don't dare to go head-to-head with the mighty Slavs. They can only rely on the superiority of artillery, and according to the Chinese, they are not heroes and good men. ”

It was Denikin's regimental staff officer who spoke, and his resentful voice drew a chorus of praise. Denikin didn't look back to answer, but his face instantly darkened. These were the staff officers assigned to him by the division headquarters yesterday, because his original staff officer died yesterday while leading a death squad to stop the Chinese army. So the division headquarters sent these pampered noble officers to the front to serve as staff officers.

Denikin didn't have to look back to know that the faces of these noble officers must have been pale. But being able to say such things today is already an improvement, at least he dares to speak. Instead of peeing your pants like yesterday. Denikin also came from an aristocratic family, although he was very small. But Denikin always demanded himself with aristocratic etiquette, including bravery. From the bottom of his heart, Denikin despised these timid so-called nobles, who were always arrogant when they invaded the weak, but were timid in the face of larger opponents, and they lost not only the bravery of the nobles, but also their loyalty. Now that the homeland of the Slavs is being invaded horribly, it is time for the nobles to stand up to the fierce fire of the enemy and defend their homeland, but these so-called nobles just want to get on the train and return to the prosperous Europe.

"Commander, the artillery of the Chinese began to extend. Order the soldiers to enter the position. "Listen to the sound of artillery and move towards the headquarters. The staff officer said anxiously. He is not in a hurry, because the will of His Majesty the great Tsar Nicholas II has reached Omsk, and if Omsk is lost, all the officers of the whole army will be shot. However, the military order given by Commander Alekseev to the Karachinsk front was to lose Karachinsk and shoot them all. Therefore, the staff officer is anxious, and the last three kilometers of the position may be a matter of a charge by the Chinese. But no matter what he said, Denikin, as the head of the regiment, did not say a word.

"It's not time yet." Denikin finally turned around and said a word, and then he turned back and continued to look into the distance with his binoculars. Denikin's heart is bleeding too. One of his own regiments was replenished four times in just two days, and it was still a battalion, so much so that a colonel commander had to personally command the positional battle. And how many casualties the Chinese have, I'm afraid it's very few. The current staff officers are weak and cowardly. But he was right, the Chinese have the advantage of artillery. This is also something that cannot be helped, the range of Chinese artillery is longer than that of Russia. Moreover, there were airships in the air, and the already small Russian artillery was completely lost under the Chinese bombardment on the morning of the first day.

Denikin never gave the order to enter the position. It's not that he's confident that the Chinese won't attack, it's that he hasn't received an early warning signal from the front. This is still the mention of his previous staff officer who was killed in battle. Precisely because every attack of the Chinese is unpredictable. So whenever the Chinese artillery began to extend, only a small number of soldiers were sent into the position. If the Chinese infantry is detected, they will shoot in early warning so that the soldiers will enter the position to block the attack. Of course, the Chinese infantry was already very close at this time, so they also revised their positions in order to match such tactics, and the actual effect showed that at least this was still somewhat useful. Because there was no warning signal ahead, Denikin was able to hold his breath.

Indeed, the Chinese infantry still did not attack, but the Chinese artillery fire suddenly stopped. News came from the front that the Chinese infantry remained in their original offensive positions. The staff officer was relieved, but Denikin was nervous, this was a completely new event.

"Maybe the Chinese are scared. After all, they lost every white-knuckle battle, and the Chinese soldiers did not have the firm will to fight with our Slavs. The staff officer said lightly.

"Shut up, you idiot." Denikin, who couldn't bear it anymore, finally broke out, and he didn't understand why such an idiot could become a regimental staff officer. Didn't he see that the two days of fighting were the withdrawal of Russian troops? Didn't he see the corpses of his own people everywhere? He would actually say that the Chinese do not have the will to fight, and if the Chinese do not have the will to fight, how did they besiege the fortresses of Siberia in the winter of minus fifty or sixty degrees? If the Chinese did not have the will to fight, how could they lie on the ice and snow and quickly support the trapped Japanese soldiers? The Chinese also dared to send two partial divisions to try to attack Omsk in the north and south, but these two partial divisions frightened Alekseyev. The 70,000 Chinese troops have formed a semi-encirclement posture against the 400,000 Russian troops, is this not enough to show the Chinese's firm will to fight? If the Chinese lack anything, they will not lack the will to fight. The Chinese infantry is still attacking on artillery points, and if a cannon does not raise its firing angle in time to hit its own army, the Chinese dare to do this, not only shows that the Chinese army's combat will is extremely tenacious, but also shows that the Chinese army has extremely high tactical quality. And the Russian army......

Denikin didn't want to talk to the staff officer, because what he said was in vain, and he wouldn't understand it for a while anyway. He wanted to tell the commander-in-chief, Alekseev, but his rank was too low to qualify. He reported to the division commander countless times, and when the Chinese army had just arrived, he repeatedly suggested that the Russian army should attack immediately. With absolute superiority in strength, he ate and at least defeated the Chinese army in front of him, but unfortunately his commanders were frightened by the rapid attack of the Japanese and Chinese. The first thing they thought of was defense. This is war, and what the army needs is the strategic initiative. Only by taking the initiative to attack can we have the initiative, and only then can we make the enemy fight according to our intentions. But Russia gave up the initiative in vain, so that the Russian army, which had 400,000 troops, was pressed and beaten by 70,000 Chinese troops. According to Denikin's idea, before the arrival of the Northeast Army in China, the Russian army should concentrate all 400,000 troops to attack, and then bite the back of the Chinese army's ass like the Japanese and kill all the way to the east and to the city of Beijing. Once the Northeast Army or the Far Eastern Railway is repaired by the Chinese, Russia is afraid that the only way is to fail.

But this last chance probably didn't see it either. Denikin wanted to scold, but he didn't know who to scold. At this time, a new news came from the front - the Chinese offensive forces were withdrawing.

"What happened? What do the Chinese want? Denikin suddenly became nervous, and he believed that there must be a new change in the Chinese army. Will it be the arrival of the reinforced Northeast China Corps? Probably not. They carried a large number of heavy weapons such as heavy artillery. If you can't go fast, you probably still have 200 kilometers to go. So what happened to make the Chinese suddenly stop all the attacks they were preparing for?

Denikin guessed correctly, but the Northeast Corps is still on the road, but not 200 kilometers but 200 miles instead of his estimate. But when things go wrong, there must be demons, but this truth is common to both the East and the West. The only reason why Liang Huadian suddenly ordered the attack to be canceled was because the first train carrying heavy artillery arrived.

"Okay, okay. As soon as this railway is completed, our army's supplies will be endless. As long as the ammunition supply can keep up, our army is afraid of who will come. Liang Huadian watched the soldiers unload the heavy cannons from the train, rubbed his hands and said with a smile: "The destroyed railway can be repaired and opened to traffic in a month and a half." Master Zhan has made a lot of contributions. ”

Zhan Tianyou laughed: "I'm ashamed, I just moved my mouth." It's General Nozu who really works hard, and Lord Liang should remember to ask General Nozu for credit. ”

"Don't dare to be, don't dare to be. The subordinate is just doing some hard work, and he really doesn't dare to take the credit. Nozu Michikan heard the two adults talk about himself. Hurriedly surrendered his hand. Since he was forced to surrender to China ten years ago and became the commander of China's Construction Corps, in the past ten years, his corps has been innumerable in the past ten years to build roads and bridges for China, and the number of the corps has grown from more than 10,000 people at the beginning to more than 10 now. The Construction Corps, which was originally composed entirely of Japanese prisoners, has now become the main labor force composed of Nanyang slaves and Russian prisoners of war. The former Japanese prisoners of war had become senior administrators of the Construction Corps, even higher than the Koreans who had always been loyal to China. The treatment of the Corps was much better than the bleak life in Japan. So much so that after the expiration of the treaty of Shimonoseki stipulating the release of all prisoners of war after five years, the majority of Japanese still chose to remain in China. Many of them also became senior administrators in the newly established Construction Corps. It was also because of the construction corps' contribution to the construction of the country, and Nozu Michikan was promoted to the rank of major general. He thought that he was a foreigner who was just a false title of grace, so he had always been cautious. But in fact, both the Chinese court and the military have never lacked the courtesy that he should have as a major general, and because he needs to take on the responsibility of ensuring the smooth flow of materials in the entire northward expansion plan, he has participated in the entire plan when the northward expansion plan is still being planned. The Chinese court did not despise or despise him because he was a foreign general, and it was precisely because of the high degree of tolerance of the court that he let go of his inferiority complex and slowly dared to take the initiative to joke with these generals and ministers. But Nozu Michikani also understands that whether it is China or Japan, bloodline always comes first. It doesn't matter if you usually say a few jokes, but when it comes to such a major event as military merit rewards, he, an outsider, must at least show a humble attitude. So he hurriedly said that he didn't dare to take it seriously, but he didn't think that his words still made Liang Huadian dissatisfied.

"What do you mean by not daring to be, what is not daring to be? Our army is fighting thousands of miles away from its homeland, and its supply capacity is equal to its combat capability. Brother Nozu repaired the railway, which was expected to take two months to repair, in just over a month to meet the needs of our army. This officer also wants to ask for credit for the Japanese Fourth Division, and they work day and night to ensure that our tens of thousands of troops are fully supplied. As long as there is no shortage of supplies, who has my Royal Army been afraid of? Isn't that a big deal? Liang Huadian reprimanded Nozu Daoguan with a look of righteous indignation, and Nozu Daoguan naturally knew that this was a good intention and thanked him. Liang Huadian continued: "The two of you will go to the camp first to rest for a while, and after lunch, you will see how the official will take Karachinsk in one go. ”

After lunch, the attacking troops began to enter the battle position, and Liang Zhan Yejin and others also came to the high place to look at the position of the Russian army from the binoculars.

"After the shelling, the smoke and dust are too big to be conducive to aerial bombardment, so let the heavy bombs of the Air Force begin." With Liang Huadian's order, the airship that had been floating in the air for several hours began to form a formation towards the sky above the Russian position.

"The Chinese airship moved." Hearing the report from the observation post, Denikin hurriedly put down his rice bowl and grabbed the binoculars, but he saw that it was not an airship in the air but a Chinese position on the opposite side. Although he did not know why the Chinese did not launch an attack in one morning, this time he saw the first such large-scale assembly of the Chinese in three days.

"Report to the division headquarters that the Chinese are going to launch a general attack." Denikin instructed the signal corps to inform the division headquarters.

It was not only Denikin who found this problem, but the entire Russian army front-line commanders noticed it. They reported to the division headquarters and asked for additional troops. But soon the Chinese airship arrived over the positions of the Russian troops, and unrestrained bombs fell from the sky.

"Boom, boom, boom-" Fifty airships dropped their bombs on the Russian positions more than 10 kilometers long, aiming at the fire support points and individual bunkers on the Russian positions. To destroy these targets, the airship used heavy bombs for ship attacks, which were enough to blow through bunkers if they hit the fortifications directly. With the addition of improved sights and rigorous training, the airship's hit rate was never high. If it is directly hit, it can only be blamed for bad fate.

Denikin was not worried about such bombing, after all, most of the bombs were not lethal enough for personnel, except for destroying empty trenches. The ensuing shelling required Denikin to be vigilant, because no one knew which round of shelling the Chinese army would charge.

The Chinese Air Force and Army artillery are well coordinated, and there is almost no time interval between aerial bombardment and ground shelling, but the most important difference between aerial bombardment and artillery shelling is the density and power of the explosion. The density of aerial bombardment is low but powerful, and the density of ground shelling is high but the power is small. The largest artillery of the Chinese artillery in three days was only about 100 mm, but this shelling seems to be a little different.

Denikin silenced all the personnel of the command, he carefully distinguished the sound of the shell exploding, suddenly his face changed, turned around and grabbed the phone to dial the division headquarters, Denikin anxiously shouted into the phone: "Request for support, request for support-" (To be continued.) )