Located on the banks of the Irtysh River, Omsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. It was built in 76 as a military fortress. In 72 it became a municipality under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Tobolsk. In 22 the Omsk region was established with the city as the center, and in the year the oblast was abolished. It is the largest port along the Irtysh River, an important hub along the Trans-Siberian Railway, and an important road hub. Omsk is one of the five largest industrial cities in Russia. The main industrial sectors are organic manufacturing and instrument manufacturing and petrochemical industry, forest and wood processing industry, light industry and food industry. In order of the number of manufactured products, then Omsk ranks fourth in Russia. After Moscow, Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.

Although Omsk is important, the Russian army does not have many troops deployed here at the moment, and there is only one division that is not fully manned, less than 10,000 people. Because, the entire Siberian region has been exhausted and has gone to Cheremkhovo in the east, hoping to open up contact with Irkutsk. However, it is simply in vain. More than 100,000 troops, west of Megget, were intercepted by two divisions of the First Army.

On June 9, when the 1st Cavalry Army appeared in Omsk. The commander of the Russian division, who was responsible for guarding here, very wisely ordered surrender. Although only the Chinese cavalry came, he was not sure that he would hold Omsk with 10,000 men in his hands. Rather than be killed after resisting, Omsk will also be devastated, and it is better to surrender voluntarily, which is better for everyone.

Thereupon. The 1st Cavalry entered Omsk without a bloody sword. Took over the defense here. All surrendered Russian troops. All were imprisoned. Those local residents are also confined to their homes and are not allowed to go out. Those who disobey will be killed.

After taking over the railway station, the 1st Cavalry Corps found a mountain of various supplies at the railway station. Weapons, ammunition, food, and so on. It is clear that these supplies were intended for delivery to Irkutsk, but after Meggett was occupied by the squadron, these supplies were stranded here. It's good now, it's all cheaper than the squadron. Although these weapons and ammunition are not on the ** team. But these grains are urgently needed by the squadron. With this batch of grain, the squadron at least does not have to work hard to transport food from the country, only needs to transport weapons and ammunition. In this way, the difficulty of transportation is reduced by at least half.

The fall of Omsk made Nicholas II once again furious. After Omsk was occupied by the squadron, contact with Irkutsk was completely cut off. Moreover, the more than 100,000 Russian troops who are attacking Megot will also lose support and become a turtle in the urn. This is for the current Russian army. It's like adding insult to injury.

Nicholas II summoned the Minister of War Alexei? Nikolaevich? Kuropatkin, scolding him for the blood spray of the dog. Then he was ordered to organize an army, take Omsk back, and open the Trans-Siberian Railway.

War Minister Alexey? Nikolaevich? Kuropatkin was so wolf that he had to draw troops from Europe again and appoint Joseph, a veteran of the Russian army? Vladimirovich? Field Marshal Gurko, led the army to attack Omsk. Marshal Gurko, who is now 7 years old, has a very high reputation in the Russian army. War Minister Alexey? Nikolaevich? Kuropatkin also has no other way, the Russian army, which has been defeated in successive battles, is demoralized, and ordinary generals are simply unable to command the troops and squadrons to fight. In such a situation, he had to use the veteran. Despite Joseph? Vladimirovich? Marshal Gurko had already retired, but by this time he nevertheless accepted the appointment and began to organize troops to Omsk. It's just that this qiē will take time, and Grand Duke Nikolai will be able to hold out in Irkutsk until the Russian army opens the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The three armies of the squadron in the northern theater plus one cavalry corps completed the encirclement of Irkutsk on June 9. To the south of Irkutsk is the Angara River, and now the bridge over the river has been blown up by the Russian army, so that although the squadron cannot attack Irkutsk through the Guò bridge, it also makes it impossible for the Russian army to break through from the south. As a result, the squadron only needed to complete the encirclement of Irkutsk from the other three directions. In the encirclement of Irkutsk, the First Army was flanked to the west, the Third Army to the north, and the Fourth Army to the east. Among them, the First Army was originally dissatisfied, and after the end of the fighting in the northeast theater, a division was transferred to continue to exterminate the scattered Russian troops and the resistance forces among the Russians in the northeast theater. After taking Megget, the First Army once again transferred two divisions to defend Megot against the Russian army attacking from the west. As a result, the First Army was left with only three infantry divisions and corps units. However, the commander of the Northern Battlefield, Minister of War Cai Yun, also fully considered this point in his arrangements, and gave the First Army a relatively light task. This time, the main attack on Irkutsk still fell on the Third Army.

On June 0, the First, Third and Fourth Armies launched an attack on Irkutsk. The 3rd Cavalry Corps was on standby on the periphery. I have to admit that the fortifications of Irkutsk are much stronger than those of Ulan-Ude. Grand Duke Nikolai was ready for a protracted battle in Irkutsk. Most of the civilians in Irkutsk have been evacuated, and only a few tens of thousands of people remain in the city. The whole of Irkutsk, full of fortresses and firing points, has completely become a fortress. Moreover, the well-prepared Russian army, which has concentrated thousands of large-caliber artillery pieces in Irkutsk, is not inferior to the partners equipped by the squadron in terms of performance. These guns were imported from Germany and France by Nicholas II brandishing a loan from England. Then it was transported to Irkutsk by guò railway. Whether in Ulan-Ude or Vladivostok, the Russian army suffered losses in artillery, so, at the request of Grand Duke Nikolai, the Russian army strengthened the construction of artillery in Irkutsk. So that the artillery of Irkutsk has the combat power of the artillery that is not inferior to the artillery of the northern Chinese theater.

In the attack on Irkutsk, at 8 o'clock in the morning on June 0, the three armies of the squadron, with a total of more than 1,500 artillery pieces of 05 mm caliber or more, launched an intensive artillery bombardment of Irkutsk. The Russian army in Irkutsk also launched a-for-tat counterattack. One after another, the shells made a sharp whistling sound in the sky, and smashed into the opponent's position. From time to time artillery was destroyed and artillery was killed. The artillery battle between the two sides was very fierce. But overall, the Chinese side still has a certain advantage. Observation balloons have been raised on each position of the Chinese artillery, which can effectively provide guidance for the artillery below. This makes the accuracy of the shelling of the Chinese artillery much higher than that of the Russian army. Even if the Russian artillery is mostly deployed next to the buildings in Irkutsk, it can effectively rely on these buildings to provide cover. But in the shelling, the Russian artillery was still in a disadvantageous position.

The shelling lasted for an hour and a half, after which the infantry of the three armies launched an attack on Irkutsk.

The Chinese soldiers jumped out of their positions and attacked the positions of the Russian troops. Behind them, mortars, heavy machine guns provided them with fire support. And the Russian troops on the defensive positions are also desperately using the weapons in their hands to shoot at the Chinese soldiers, in a vain attempt to repel the attack of the squadron and hold Irkutsk.

After the fierce fighting began, the whole of Irkutsk was covered in smoke, and a large number of buildings were destroyed in the fierce artillery battle. The East Siberian Governor's Palace, located in the center of Irkutsk, is the focus of the crackdown. At this moment, the palatial Governor's Palace has already been bombed into ruins. Fortunately, before the battle began, all the people in the Doge's Palace had been withdrawn, otherwise there would have been heavy casualties.

The headquarters of the Grand Duke Nicholas, across the street from the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, was a command located ten meters low, which could defend against heavy artillery attacks. This headquarters was built by the Grand Duke Nikolai on the orders of the sappers. The underground area is more than 300 square meters, and the electricity, communications, and other facilities are unimpeded, which can effectively command the battle of nearly 500,000 Russian troops in Irkutsk.

"Order all departments, not an inch of land, must resist the attack of the Chinese. The position of that division was broken through, and the commander of that division did not have to come back! Nicholas II ordered with a cold face. Although the battle had only just begun, it was fierce. Among the Russian army, there are many recruits, and in order to prevent these recruits from escaping, he can only take harsh measures.

"Yes, Your Excellency!" The adjutant of the Grand Duke Nicholas commanded.

Grand Duke Nikolai's face was very stern, if he could still escape when he was in Ulan-Ude, then when he was in Irkutsk, there was no way back. He had already received a telegram that the Russian troops stationed in Omsk had surrendered. The Trans-Siberian Railway was officially cut off by the squadron, and even if he broke through this time, he would not be able to escape the interception of the squadron. Therefore, Grand Duke Nikolai could only fight to the death in Irkutsk this time. Moreover, he was convinced that it would not be long before the tide of the war would change. The combined fleet of Britain, France and Russia will soon defeat the Chinese Navy! (To be continued.) )

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