When the Nanyang Campaign was in full swing, the northern battlefield finally became tense again after more than ten days of calm. Moreover, this battle will directly determine the outcome of the East Siberian Campaign, and even become a turning point in the land battlefield between China and Russia in this war.

After full preparations, the armies of China and Russia have gathered in Ulan-Ude, and the big war is about to break out!

The city of Ulan-Ude is the third largest city in Eastern Siberia. Founded by the Cossacks in 666. The main ethnic groups are Buryats, Russians, Mongols. The history of the Buryats is closely related to the Mongols of China and are the descendants of the Mongol people of the Yuan Dynasty. To this day, they can communicate freely with their Mongolian compatriots in Mongolian. Moreover, their appearance characteristics and lifestyle are very similar to those of their Mongolian compatriots.

In the previous Kyakhta battle, although the squadron won the victory, a large number of weapons and ammunition were consumed. At the same time, Cai Yun, the Minister of War who was in charge of commanding the northern battlefield, believed that he could use Ulan-Ude to attract more Russian troops here to fight a decisive general battle. Therefore, the Third Army, after the great victory in Kyakhta, did not immediately launch an offensive against Ulan-Ude, but rested for a while. On the one hand, it can replenish troops, and at the same time, it can also replenish weapons and ammunition. And now, all the preparations are finally complete. The Russian army in Ulan-Ude has also accumulated 200,000 troops, which already accounts for most of the Russian army in Eastern Siberia.

On the morning of April 6, Army Minister Cai Yun personally rushed to Ivorginsk, north of Kyakhta, less than twenty-five kilometers from Riulan-Ude, to establish a front-line command. Responsible for commanding the armies on the northern battlefields. Right now. The Chinese Army is on the Northern Theater. The forces of three army groups and also one cavalry corps were concentrated. Including the First Army, which defeated Chita, except for the 48th Division, which remained in the Far East and continued to clear the scattered Russian troops, the main force of the Group Army had all marched to Ulan-Ude and joined this battle. In addition, there was the Third Army, which won the Battle of Kyakhta, and the Third Cavalry Army. As for the Fourth Army, it was still in Baikalsk and was responsible for cutting off the connection between Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude. Right now. The Russian army rushed day and night, mobilized a large number of troops from Europe and sent them to Eastern Siberia. Now, the Russian army in Irkutsk has once again increased to 180,000. And this number is rising rapidly. By the end of the battle of Ulan-Ude, this number will probably rise to more than 200,000 or more. Of course, the Chinese side would like the Russian army to throw more troops into Eastern Siberia. As soon as the Battle of Ulan-Ude ended, the Fifth Army, which had been heavily swept away, moved north, cut off the Trans-Siberian Railway, and the Russian army threw itself into the army of Eastern Siberia. All of them have become turtles in the urn. If you eat these armies, even if there are more soldiers in the Russian army. It's going to hurt your vitality, too.

In Ivolginsk, Army Minister Cai Yun held a pre-war meeting, which was attended by Lieutenant General Yang Guoxing, commander of the First Group Army, Major General Wu Yanfa, chief of staff, Major General Chen Anguo, commander of the Third Group Army, Major General Liu Dingyi, chief of staff, and Major General Bashar, commander of the Third Cavalry Army, and Major General Li Zhuo, deputy commander of the Third Cavalry Army.

"Everyone, the Emperor ** team, they are winning on all battlefields. In the South Seas, it is just a small battlefield, and the largest battlefield of our army is in the north, on the body of the Russians. Although it is only April, there is only half a year left before the beginning of winter, and we must try to end the war within this half year or establish absolute superiority. This is very important. And the battle of Ulan-Ude, which we are going to fight now, is a crucial battle. For this battle, the War Department specially prepared for half a month. We must win this battle! Minister of War Cai Yun said firmly.

"Yes, sir!" Several generals replied at once. They also hope to be victorious, and the winter in the north is very cruel, and it can freeze people to death. The best-case scenario is to end the war in the winter. However, if Lao Mao must fight to the end, with Russia's strong military superiority and the support of Western powers, it is really possible to drag it out until winter. When the time comes, Lao Mao will have the advantage. Old Mao is more frozen, and the Chinese are much worse in this regard. Therefore, even if it is not possible to end the war before the onset of winter, it is necessary to minimize the war potential of the Russians as much as possible. In this way, the Imperial Army could have a decisive advantage.

"According to the plan of the General Staff, the battle of Ulan-Ude will begin tomorrow morning. The Third Army was mainly attacking south of Ulan-Ude, and the First Army was mainly attacking east of Ulan-Ude. And the 3rd Cavalry Army, the task is heavier. After the battle began, the 3rd Cavalry Corps attacked from the west, cutting off the Russian retreat of Ulan-Ude to Lake Baikal to the west and the passage to the north, preventing the Russian army from escaping. This time, we will eat all the 200,000 Russian troops

Fall. Now, the supreme commander of the Russian army in Ulan-Ude is Grand Duke Nicholas, the uncle of Tsar Nicholas II, and a rare general in Russia, if we can kill him, or capture him, it will definitely be a very big blow to the Russian army! War Minister Cai Yun said.

"Your Excellency, rest assured, the Third Cavalry Army guarantees the completion of the mission!" The commander of the Third Cavalry Corps, Bashar, a Mongolian man, patted his chest and said. After the Mongols returned to the imperial government, as the empire began to carry out reforms in Mongolia, the life of the Mongolian people became better and better, and the officers and soldiers of the Third Cavalry Army were more willing to work for the empire.

"The Third Cavalry Army can't be careless! This time, Ulan-Ude had two Cossack regiments, as well as a crippled Cossack Ninth Corps, for a total of more than 50,000 Cossack cavalry. To the west and north of Ulan-Ude are the most important retreats for the Russian army in Ulan-Ude, and they will definitely desperately defend these two directions. Cai Yun admonished.

"Yes, sir! Although the Cossack cavalry of the Russian army is strong, after the previous battles, the Cossack cavalry of the Russian army is not our opponent at all. The Cossack cavalry still used the tactics of decades ago, and we were not at all on the same level. The strong firepower of the Third Cavalry Army was enough to make their heads slam and bleed! Major General Bashar, commander of the 3rd Cavalry Corps, said with certainty.

"That's good! blocked the retreat of the Ulan-Ude Russian army, and the Russian army became a turtle in an urn. The tasks of the Third and First armies were also very medium, and Ulan-Ude was the third largest city in Eastern Siberia with strong city defenses. And, these days, the Russian army has definitely strengthened the defenses of Ulan-Ude. The whole of Ulan-Ude has become a strong fortress. Cai Yun said.

"Rest assured, my lord, we are confident that we will defeat Ulan-Ude. Ulan-Ude has only 200,000 Russian troops. After our Third Army was replenished, it was already full, and with the addition of the First Army, the total strength was more than 300,000 men. Our firepower is even more incomparable than the Russian army. Defeat Ulan-Ude, there must be no problem! Major General Chen Anguo, commander of the Third Army, said.

"Yes! My lord. Will Ulan-Ude's defenses, though strong, hold off our heavy artillery? The combined artillery of our two armies is enough to bomb Ulan-Ude into ruins, and if it really doesn't work, we can also ask for the support of the Air Force. The airships of the Air Force, the aerial bombs dropped, are very powerful! Lieutenant General Yang Guoxing, commander of the First Group Army, said. The Air Force was in the limelight in the battle in Vladivostok. Originally, the army and navy were somewhat dissatisfied with the air force's annual military expenditure, but they did not express any expression. However, in the battle of Vladivostok, the appearance of the airship unit of the Air Force made everyone feel deeply shocked. The heavy artillery of the army and the large-caliber naval guns of the navy were powerless to strengthen the fortifications, but under the blows of the heavy aerial bombs of the air force, they were like tofu, and the light ones were destroyed. This made the army and navy no longer have any complaints about the air force, and officially admitted that the air force was one of the three major branches of the imperial army.

"Don't expect too much from the Air Force. The South Seas operation, especially the Burma operation, was poorly supplied. Most of the Air Force's airship units were devoted to supporting the South Seas operation, providing logistical support for the Burmese Army. There are definitely not many airships that can be put into the northern battlefield. If we can, we should solve it with our own strength! Cai Yun said.

"Yes, sir!"

"Well, that's it for the meeting. Let's go back first! Tomorrow morning, the artillery began to prepare for artillery fire, and an hour later, the First and Third Armies launched an offensive on Ulan-Ude! Cai Yun said.

"Yes, sir!" After saluting, the generals left one after another. They need to return to their respective forces and make concrete arrangements for tomorrow's offensive. As we all know, the war that breaks out tomorrow will be very important. At the same time, everyone was very excited and confident. The victories of the Imperial Army on all fronts greatly strengthened their confidence.

At this time, the atmosphere in Ulan-Ude was also very tense. Grand Duke Nikolai personally crossed Lake Baikal by boat from Irkutsk, reached Ulan-Ude, relieved Lieutenant General Vladimir, who was unfavorably in command, and directly took over the command of Ulan-Ude. Now, the Russian army in Ulan-Ude has concentrated 200,000 troops, but Grand Duke Nikolai still has little chance of winning. The Fourth Army of the Chinese Army occupied Baikalsk and cut off the Trans-Siberian Railway between Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude, which greatly affected the supply of troops and materials to Ulan-Ude. (To be continued.) )

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