"Cullen, we're finally here. This will be the beginning of our conquest of this ancient country! "Although, the eyes are deeply sunken and the face is full of tiredness, almost to the point of physical and mental exhaustion. However, Admiral Vladimir's eyes are very bright, and there is something called ambition burning in them.

"Order the whole army to camp and prepare for the sneak attack of those yellow-skinned monkeys. Tomorrow, we'll launch an attack on Cullen and take it here in one fell swoop! Admiral Vladimir ordered. Although they are running out of food and other supplies, it is best to launch an attack on Kulen as soon as possible, and strive to take Kulen as soon as possible. However, the officers and soldiers are too tired, and to let them attack Kulen under such circumstances is undoubtedly to send them to death! Even if Admiral Vladimir never cared about the lives of those ordinary gray animals. But even if it's cannon fodder, it's worth dying! Not to mention that Kulen had already been built a complete fortification by the Northern Army.

Admiral Vladimir, with several Russian generals, observed the fortifications of the Northern Army. Simple circular fortifications, combined with barbed wire and fixed fire points, have become extremely lethal. It is foreseeable that the Russian army will need to fill these fortifications with a lot of human lives. However, Admiral Vladimir did not care about this. They have absolute superiority in numbers. Even if you use people to pile up, you will definitely be able to break through Cullen.

"Lieutenant General Fyodor, how about leaving tomorrow's attack to your troops? When the time comes, I will concentrate the artillery of the whole army to support you. If I can break through the defenses of those yellow-skinned monkeys, I will personally ask His Majesty the Tsar for credit for you. "said Admiral Vladimir.

"No problem, Your Excellency, Commander. The army under my command will definitely be able to tear through the defenses of those yellow-skinned monkeys. A tall and thin middle-aged soldier said nonchalantly. Although, along the way, he was tossed enough. But. He did not think that in a head-on confrontation, the Northern Army could be their opponent.

"Good, I'm looking forward to that moment." Admiral Vladimir nodded.

At the same time, the Northern Army also discovered the call of the Russian army. The 2nd Infantry Division, 21st Infantry Division, 22nd Infantry Division and 23rd Infantry Division of the Northern Army, deployed in Kulen, have reached maximum combat readiness. The 2nd Infantry Division had entered the first line of defense. They will be responsible for the defense of the first line of defense. The other three infantry divisions remained in the rear line.

The 2nd Infantry Division was the elite of the Northern Army, and letting them devote themselves to the first battle was also the result of Wu Haoxuan's careful consideration. The Russian army in front of him has been physically and mentally exhausted by the cavalry of the Northern Army. Even after a short rest, they could not make the officers and soldiers recover. This also leads to the fact that when the Russian army has just begun to attack, its combat effectiveness will be very strong. But as long as they resist this wave of their attacks, the combat effectiveness of the Russian army behind will be greatly reduced. The other three infantry divisions were all newly formed units, and their combat effectiveness was not as strong as that of the 2nd Infantry Division. So. Letting the 2nd Infantry Division take the lead would be more conducive to holding Kulen.

"Young marshal, don't worry. The 2nd Infantry Division was confident that the Russians would be bleeding from the head. They want to break through our defenses, it's impossible. Lieutenant General Zhao Xifu said confidently. As the commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, he was naturally very aware of the combat effectiveness of his troops.

Wu Haoxuan nodded, the combat effectiveness of the elite troops of the Northern Army was already at the world-class level. Perhaps, there is still a gap in the quality of individual soldiers. But after a strong firefight. The combat effectiveness of the Northern Army has increased considerably. Even compared with the German Army, which claims to be the largest in the world, it is estimated that it is not much different. As for the Russian Army. That's rubbish. Even with the absolute superiority of troops, don't think about breaking through the defense line of the Northern Army.

On July 30, 1908, the weather was fine and the weather was perfect for launching a large-scale offensive. A fierce battle is about to unfold in the Mongolian steppe.

Morning. The artillery positions of the Russian army were busy. The Russian artillerymen pushed a 76.2-mm field gun and a 105-mm howitzer into the hastily constructed artillery position. Although the Russian army has more than 400,000 troops, the number of their artillery is not large. Coupled with long marches, heavy artillery was not conducive to the march. Therefore, the vast majority of the Russian army's artillery is 76.2 mm field guns. As for the 105-mm howitzers, they are very rare.

On dozens of artillery positions of the Russian army. There were more than 300 75-mm field guns, and as for 105-mm howitzers, there were only about 60. Larger-caliber artillery was not carried by the Russian army at all because it was too heavy.

However, in the opinion of Admiral Vladimir, Kulen did not have strong walls, and there were no reinforced concrete fortifications. Even with 76.2 mm field guns, it was enough to smash these fortifications. Therefore, these guns are completely sufficient.

It was just after 8 o'clock in the morning that the Russian army completed its preparations. With the order of Admiral Vladimir, hundreds of Russian artillery pieces began to roar.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! ”

The muzzles of the guns shone with orange-red flames, and one after another shells whistled towards the positions of the Northern Army in the distance. The cannonballs slashed through the air at high speed, emitting a piercing, high-pitched whistling.

"Shelling, hide!"

On the position of the 21st Regiment of the Northern Army, the officers and men drilled into the anti-artillery holes in an orderly manner. Or lie at the bottom of a trench up to 1.8 meters deep. Although it is a civil fortification, the anti-artillery holes built by the Northern Army are of high standard, and they can still withstand the shelling of the Russian army's 76.2 mm field guns or 105 mm howitzers. As for the soldiers lying at the bottom of the trench, as long as they are not too unlucky and the shells do not fall directly into the trench, their lives will not be in danger.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”

Explosions sounded over the positions of the Northern Army, leaving craters after craters. The entire position seemed to be shrouded in gunsmoke. The artillery bombardment of the Russian army was very fierce. It's just that the casualties they inflicted on the Northern Army were very limited. The officers and men of the Northern Army, whether hiding in the artillery holes or trenches, suffered few casualties.

As soon as the Russian artillery was in full swing for a few minutes, the artillery of the Northern Army began to exert its might. Divisional artillery battalions of four infantry divisions and regimental artillery batteries of twelve regiments were all put into use. When the shelling of the Russian army had just begun, 144 105-mm light howitzers belonging to the artillery battalions of the four divisions were ready to open fire. The artillery staff is estimating the position of the Russian artillery based on the ballistics of the Russian artillery and the data obtained by the observers on the city walls.

After finding the approximate location of the artillery positions of the Russian army, the 105-mm light howitzers of these four artillery battalions began to roar. As for the twelve 75-mm artillery batteries, silence continues. The power of the 75-mm field gun was too small, and as a suppression of the enemy's artillery fire, it was somewhat insufficient. But a 105-mm light howitzer, it will be enough. The 105mm light howitzer equipped by the Northern Army adopts new technology, and whether it is the range or rate of fire, it is definitely not comparable to the old 105mm howitzer of the Russian army.

"Whew! Shout! Shout! ”

When the sharp whistling sound appeared overhead, the faces of the Russian artillerymen changed greatly, and they ran away. The artillery positions were full of shells, and if they were shelled at this time, the consequences could be imagined.

"Boom! Rumble! ”

Two shells fell into the Russian artillery positions in succession, and one shell blew off several Russian artillerymen and overturned a 76.2 mm field gun. Another shell fell into the stacked shells, causing them to explode. The detonation of dozens of shells was not a trivial matter, which directly led to the entire artillery battalion being swept away.

When the smoke cleared, the entire artillery position was in shambles, littered with torn corpses, and a huge crater sat in the center of the artillery position. As for the cannons, they were completely destroyed. The barrels of many cannons were twisted into twists in the explosion.

"Hell, let our artillery, suppress those yellow-skinned monkey cannons!" Admiral Vladimir's face was a little unpleasant. He originally thought that with powerful artillery fire, he would directly blow up the defense line of the Northern Army. However, at the very beginning, the artillery of the Northern Army showed extremely strong strength, which made Admiral Vladimir realize that the development of the war situation seemed to deviate from his expectations.

"General, the range of our artillery is not as good as that of the Northern Army." The artillery commander said with a bitter face.

The artillery positions of the Northern Army are located outside the range of the Russian artillery, which makes the Russian artillery only able to stare dryly!

"Damn!" Admiral Vladimir couldn't help but curse secretly.

In the end, the shelling of the Russian army lasted less than half an hour before it ended. It's not that Admiral Vladimir doesn't want to continue shelling, it's that he can't afford huge losses! In this half an hour, the Russian army has already lost more than 20 artillery pieces. If this continues, I'm afraid it won't be long before their cannons are exhausted. When the time comes, how will they continue to fight?

After the shelling, the Russian army, which had already been prepared, launched an attack. The 18th Infantry Corps of the Russian Army under Lieutenant General Fyodor dispatched an infantry division to attack the positions of the Northern Army. Tens of thousands of Russian troops poured into the positions of the Northern Army like a gray tide.

"Artillery fire!"

On the artillery positions of the Northern Army, 108 75-mm field guns opened fire. Dense shells, whistling towards the Russian army.

"Shelling! Lie down! ”

A Russian officer yelled loudly and fell to the ground first. But many of the rest of the Russian army are still looking blankly at everything around them. (To be continued......)

PS: The first update is coming, asking for a monthly pass! Thank you for the silent Lei, Hu Zuofei AAA, Feng Yuezheng, Lao Li 1407, Xiaodao 001, Happy Party, and Liu Lijin of Dongshan Village, Ningxiang County! Thank you to the book friends buickhrv, zy1974, red dust flying 788, (Medal of Honor) Wu Jiwei, haorenyige, cao20704, and the monthly ticket to the happy party! There are still many book friends who have not recorded their names, thank you for your support!