[The first shift, there will be another shift in the evening]

~~~~~~~~~~~~ faced with the huge pressure of public opinion caused by the eighth bus letter, the prime minister of the Qing Dynasty, Yamen, had to be tougher, rejecting the previous nodding and agreeing to compensate Russia for 30 million military expenses, and demanding that the Russian army withdraw unconditionally.

As for the unconditional withdrawal of troops, the Russian political axe obviously does not do it. The Russian army has lost more than 53,000 elite soldiers, of which nearly 20,000 were captured in the Qing army camp, and the entire Amur Inland River Fleet has been lost, with cumulative losses of up to 56 million rubles, or 45 million taels of silver. This does not include other losses, such as the huge military expenditures that Russia has spent in the past six months, as well as the pensions of the casualties after the war, the reconstruction of the army, etc., all of which add up to 90 million rubles for this local war. Obviously, the Russian side is unacceptable to the unconditional withdrawal of troops, even if it is just a matter of face.

However, the losses of the Qing Empire were not small, more than 26,000 Qing officers and soldiers were killed from the deputy capital of Heilongjiang, the Songhua River Naval Division Battalion was wiped out, and the battle losses caused by the fall of most areas under the jurisdiction of the Heilongjiang General and the Shengjing General also reached 20 million taels.

The Qing Zheng axe cost 40 million taels just to prepare logistics supplies for the eight towns of the Beiyang Army, of course, these expenses do not need to pay cash for the time being, and they are all recorded in the accounts of Wang Chenhao's Beiyang Weapons Heavy Industry, but the Qing Zheng Axe knows very well in his heart that if he wants to recover the eight towns of the Beiyang Army in the future, unless he first pays off all the silver owed to the Beiyang Weapons Heavy Industry, he will have to default to the surname Wang of the Beiyang Army. The local war between Qing and Russia lasted for more than half a year, and the cumulative cost of the Qing political axe reached 80 million taels of silver, and the financial revenue for a year was gone. Like the Russian political axe, the Qing political axe was also anxious to end the war, otherwise he would have to tie up his neck and drink the northwest wind.

War, both winners and losers, loses both sides, because their finances cannot afford the long attrition of war. Of course, if the winner receives the loser's compensation and passes on the war losses to the loser's side, that's another matter.

The Russians will never be reconciled if they do not ask for some benefits, because all Russians from Tsar Nicholas II down to the bottom of their sons will not let go.

On November 5, the 77th Division of the Afghan Corps, which Kuroberkin had supplemented with Major General Kendrachev, arrived in Liaoyang, increasing the number of Russian troops in southern Liaoning to 45,000. At the same time, Kuroberkin instructed Major General Kendrachev and his army to fight another decent battle in order to recover the field and save face for the Russian Army. However, Kuroberkin specifically instructed Major General Kendrachev to control the scale of the battle and not to break out a decisive battle with the Qing army, because Tsar Nicholas II had already decided to end the war, and all he did was to save some face and increase the bargaining chips for the Qing-Russian negotiations as much as possible.

After Major General Kendrachev understood the intentions of General Kuroberkin and also absorbed the lessons of the defeat of Lieutenant General Stessel, who fought a decisive battle against the Qing army under the city of Aihui, he began to formulate a battle plan.

After the Battle of Liaoyang, the Qing and Russian armies largely confronted each other in the Shahe area between Mukden and Liaoyang.

The Qing army in the Shahe Theater was about 66,000 people, 200 guns, and 100 heavy machine guns. Among them, the third and fourth towns of the Beiyang Army were the main forces, and the Shengjing general Yiketanga and his Sheng army assisted from the side. The Qing army had a large number of troops, but Li Hongzhang gave defensive orders to the third and fourth towns, and Shengjing's general Yiktanga also pursued a defensive strategy in order to protect Mukden, resulting in the Qing army's strength and armament surpassing the Russian army, but the defense line was 90 kilometers long.

During the same period, the Russian army in the Shahe area was about 45,000 men with 120 artillery pieces. In the previous stage of the operation, the Russian army consumed a lot of money, and the offensive was suspended in order to replenish troops and military supplies. However, despite the general mobilization of Kurbertkin in the Far Eastern Military District, it could not fundamentally change the balance of forces between Qing and Russia.

However, although the Qing army had the upper hand, the Song Qing Division, which could pose a threat to the Russian army, had been disabled, and only the third and fourth towns of the Beiyang Army remained, with only about 20,000 troops. Therefore, Major General Kendrachev believes that he is still at an advantage.

The offensive plan drawn up by Major General Kendrachev was to attack the enemy between the Hun and Taizi rivers and occupy the right bank of the Taizi River. The Russian army is divided into 2 groups on the left and right: on the left flank is the 77th Division, commanded by Stackerburg, which carries out the main attack in the direction of Benxi Lake (this direction is mountainous); On the right flank was the 2nd Primorsky Division, commanded by Bilderlinger, which advanced slowly in the direction of the Sand River, with the task of attracting the enemy in the direction of the main attack. The Amur Reading Brigade was also used as a reserve, under the personal command of Kendrachev. The front of the attack of the left and right groups totaled about 50 kilometers, and the total offensive speed did not exceed 5 kilometers per day and night.

The main direction of attack of this plan is in the mountainous and hilly area, and the Russian army has no preparations for mountain warfare, especially the lack of understanding of the mountainous terrain in the Fengtian Shahe area, so that the preparations for the Russian army's offensive can not be effectively concealed, and it was soon discovered by the local people and sent to the Fengtian Beiyang Army Headquarters, so that the Russian army's combat plan completely lost its sudden surname.

In Fengtian City, Cao Kun, commander of the Beiyang Army Theater and commander of the 3rd Town Division, Zhang Huaizhi, commander of the 4th Town Division, and Guo Xudong and Zhao Huanti, two chiefs of staff, discussed countermeasures.

After some discussion, Cao Kun decided to make a plan, first using the mountainous terrain that was unfavorable to the Russian army, to wear down and exhaust the Russian army in defensive warfare, and then invest new forces to turn to the offensive, storm the center and right flank of the Russian army, and annihilate the main force of the Russian army in southern Liaoning in one fell swoop. For the defensive counterattack battle adopted by the Beiyang Army, Iktanga expressed his support, because he had participated in the Beiyang Army's Yongping Qiuying and served as a referee in the confrontation exercise, he had seen the Beiyang Army's defensive counterattack, and at the same time, he also felt that other plans were not as reliable as this plan.

On November 8, the 2nd Binhai Division on the right flank of the Russian army appeared on the right flank of the Qing army. From this area it was possible to attack the flank of the third town of the Qing army.

On 9 November, the main offensive force of the Russian army, consisting of 45 infantry companies and 18 cavalry companies, launched an attack on the Benxi Lake-belt on the right edge of the third town of the Beiyang Army.

The Beiyang Army deployed in this direction only has the 11th Standard of the Sixth Association of the Third Town commanded by Wu Peifu. Due to the resolute defense of the 11th standard, Wu Peifu repelled the fierce attacks of the Russian army many times, not only overfulfilled the established defensive tasks, but also Wu Peifu saw that the Russian army's firepower was unevenly distributed, and there were loopholes in the reinforcement of the follow-up troops, so he decisively launched a counter-charge during the defense, and defeated the 17 infantry companies of the Russian army in one fell swoop, and achieved brilliant results. After the war, Wang Chenhao was awarded the "Tiger Regiment", and Wu Peifu was also promoted from major to lieutenant colonel.

On November 10, the Russian army's right-wing assault battle failed, and the plan to lure the enemy failed. The Beiyang Army took the opportunity to concentrate the main forces of the third town and launched a general attack from the left flank of the Russian army to the northeast. This attack was coordinated with the 4th Cavalry of the 4th Town, which was inserted into the right flank of the Russian army, and as a result, the Russian army had to begin a full-scale retreat on November 12.

The Beiyang Army immediately took advantage of this favorable opportunity to turn to the offensive, and as a result, the Beiyang Army counterattacked, and a series of fierce encounters inevitably broke out between the retreating Russian army. At the same time, Iktanga also ordered his Sheng army to take the opportunity to launch a counteroffensive, causing fighting to occur everywhere along the 90-kilometer front of the entire Shahe theater. The ubiquitous encounters take place not only during the day, but also at night. In the night battle, both sides were afraid of exposing their artillery positions, so neither artillery was used, and the troops were engaged in the attack in dense formations, with soldiers arm to arm, and most of the night battles ended with bayonet and white-knuckle fighting.

In order to identify friends and foes, the soldiers of the Qing army, whether they were the Beiyang Army or the Green Battalion of the Eight Banners, wrapped white cloth belts around their sleeves. Of course, the main reason is that the military uniforms of the Beiyang Army are relatively similar to the military uniforms of the Russian army, and the Sheng troops under Iktanga wear all the number uniforms, which can be recognized without armbands.

This fierce encounter lasted until 15 November, and the Beiyang Army had a very big advantage in white-knuckle warfare, and the white-knuckle battle between the Russian troops and the Beiyang Army was basically a one-sided situation, with heavy casualties. But Iktanga's army was too far behind, and when they met the Russians, the result of the battle was the opposite. In this way, from the perspective of the overall battle situation, the Beiyang Army took advantage of the Russian army, but the Russian army also recovered the field from the Sheng army, and the losses of the troops on both sides were basically the same.

However, the Russian army lost the lead in strategy, and in some sections the Russian army was pushed back to the Shahe area by the Beiyang Army. Cao Kun was worried that the Sheng army would not be able to withstand the counterattack of the Russian army and affect the flank of the Beiyang Army. During the Great War of Aihui, the Russian Cossack cavalry regiment easily broke through the Qing army's defense line and raided the rear of the Beiyang Army, almost annihilating the first and second towns of the Beiyang Army.

"You can't give the flanks and rear to those old soldiers!"

This was Wang Shizhen's original words, and Cao Kun took it to heart, so he ordered the Beiyang Army to consolidate its vested position and turn from a counteroffensive to a defensive state again.

At the same time, Major General Kendrachev decided to launch an offensive on his right flank on the morning of 16 November in order to restore the original position on the left bank of the Sand River. However, on the night of the 15th, under the leadership of the regiment commander Wu Luzhen, the 13th Standard of the 7th Association of the 4th Town of the Beiyang Army, made a surprise attack on the 110 heights in the Shahebao area and captured Wanbao Mountain, a decisive commanding height in the defensive section of the 77th Division on the left flank of the Russian army. The occupation of this high ground by the Beiyang Army created a threat of breaking through the center of the Russian defenses. As a result, Major General Kendrachev abandoned the original offensive plan and ordered the 77th Division to recapture the high ground at all costs. At the same time, Cao Kun also realized the important surname of the 110 highlands, and ordered the Fourth Town Seventh Association to fully support the 13th Bid.

As a result, the fiercest battle for the 110 heights in the Battle of Shahe broke out, making the Battle of Shahe enter the first place.

After 16~17 days of fierce fighting, the Russian army recaptured the high ground at the cost of 5,000 casualties. The Beiyang Army suffered only more than 200 casualties.

The battle loss ratio was as high as 25 to 1, mainly because the Beiyang Army was on the defensive side, plus the 13th standard erected a heavy machine gun company. Under the blow of the Makqin heavy machine gun, which is known as the butcher, the Russian army suffered heavy casualties. In the end, because the Russian army's frontal attack suffered too many casualties, the Russian army made a detour from both flanks, intending to cut off the 13th standard rear road. The position of the thirteenth standard is too forward, deep into the Russian army's defense network in depth, and the support given by the Seventh Association is limited. In the end, Wu Luzhen judged the situation and after running out of heavy machine gun bullets, he had to take the initiative to abandon his position and retreat to his original defensive position.

Although the 110th Heights were lost again, Wu Luzhen's regiment inflicted heavy losses on the Russian 77th Division, resulting in the 77th Division being unable to launch a large-scale offensive on other fronts.

After the battle for the 110 heights ended, the two sides consolidated their established positions, repaired fortifications, confronted each other, and occasionally dispatched reconnaissance troops or carried out artillery bombardments.

After the Battle of Shahe, the Russian army was no longer able to launch an offensive against the Qing army, and Kendrachev had to switch to strategic defense. The Russian army lost more than 10,000 people in this battle, the Qing army lost more than 7,000 people, most of which were the losses of the Sheng army, and the Beiyang Army lost less than 700 people.

(To be continued)