Fort Cobra has fallen!

When the news broke, the whole of Vladivostok was in shock, and every citizen had a look of trepidation on their faces, they had never imagined that everything would come so quickly, Cobra Fort...... That was the gate to the city, and after that gate was broken, the whole of Vladivostok opened its door like the Chinese. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

Since people who do not understand military affairs also know the current situation, only a few hours after the fall of Cobra Fort, in the fortress of the bay in the city, Stessel held a military meeting there, and in the face of the shelling of the Chinese, his headquarters had been moved to the fortress many days earlier.

Although it is an underground fortress, Stexel, as the commander, has a spacious office, at this time, he is in the commander, he is not immersed in the shock of the fall of Cobra Castle, but looks at the letter of persuasion in front of him, unable to speak for a long time, again, he looked at the letter in his hand, this letter is not for him, in fact, the official letter of persuasion was also delivered to him yesterday, he did not have much feeling about the letter, but this letter to his wife's letter, But it left him in a hesitation that he had never felt before.

"Lady makeup. On the occasion of the military envoy's convenience, I would like to express my deepest sincerity, and I hereby take the liberty to present a cheque of 100,000 yuan from the Bank of Korea to pray for the acceptance of the need for charity.

Shang Dequan, commander of the Northeast Army's coastal theater, is hereby enlightened"

This is a typical bribe, and in anyone's opinion, this so-called "charity" is simply used to bribe his wife, who is looking at the cashier's check. He said.

"Now that Vladivostok is surrounded, how can I get this money?"

Stexel, the top commander of the Russian army guarding the city, received the official letter of surrender yesterday. He once sneered and stretched out a fist, but put his thumb between his index and middle fingers, and instructed his subordinates: You don't need to write any reply to the Chinese Yankees, you can draw a picture according to the shape of my hand and send it back to them!

In the face of that kind of official persuasion, he naturally had to give the most direct answer, and even replied in a mocking tone at the official meeting. But the promissory note given to his wife. But he took it, because the city would not be besieged forever, and the war would not go on forever. At the end of the war. That is when that promissory note is cashed.

Before yesterday, he didn't think the official letter of surrender had any effect. But, now, after the sudden fall of Fort Cobra. But a thought crossed his mind—perhaps. That's the last chance! Now, the Chinese will do whatever it takes to conquer the city.

As for the 100,000 yuan, it is undoubtedly reminding him to make a rational choice when necessary, what kind of choice?

"Your Excellency, everyone is here!"

At this moment, his thoughts were interrupted, and he nodded blankly. Then he stood up and walked out of the office to the conference room. There were already more than 20 people gathered in the conference room, including generals, young colonels, and a few admirals. On the wall hangs a map of the Vladivostok theater of operations, with various batteries and fortresses depicted with crosses all over the map.

It was a mark made by on the map with a red pencil to mark the fall of a fort or battery, and just a few dozen minutes earlier, he had made a cross on the fort of Cobra, and even highlighted the date of the fall of one fort - February 17, 1901.

If there is a Chinese here, perhaps he will be reminded that today is the 29th day of the lunar month of the Chinese calendar, and there is only one day left until the thirtieth year of the Chinese New Year's Eve.

Even in the midst of the siege, for these Russians, the goal of the Chinese army is not a secret, in fact, the Northeast Army has never concealed its goal, and even on the front pages of various newspapers in the northeast, you can see the phrase - "to Vladivostok for the New Year", this is a call, but also a promise, the soldier's commitment to the people.

In order to fulfill this promise, hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Northeast Army are willing to do whatever it takes to win the war, but now, the Russians are still holding on, and as for Stexel, the commander of the Russian army, he has no intention of giving up.

"Attention everyone!"

Stexel taps a pencil on the map table frame.

"I just received a call from the front, and Fort Cobra has lost ......"

His brow furrowed, and his tone was full of disbelief, how could it be? Just a few hours earlier, he had spoken to Condral on the phone, and even just an hour earlier, the Chief of Staff had confirmed from Condrav that they could hold on, but now the Chinese flag was flying over Cobra Fort.

The red-edged sun and moon flag in the smoke, after the outbreak of this war, always raised again and again in their fortress, that flag symbolizes the victory of the Chinese, but it means the defeat of the Russians!

But now Stessel would do well to figure out what happened to Castle Cobra. Why did it fall in just one hour? What happened to Kondrav and his subordinates? But in addition, the practical problems in front of him are what he has to face.

"After the fall of Fort Cobra, there was a breakthrough in the originally complete northern defense line, and now there are only some isolated batteries and rudimentary field positions between the city and the Chinese, so I would like to hear your opinion on whether the defense of Vladivostok can continue in the future!"

Two weeks ago, on the day of the outbreak of the war, the whole world thought that Vladivostok would be enough to hold out for a year, or even longer, and even with the fortress alone they could make the Chinese return, but now, two weeks later, Stessel and everyone here know very well that the fall of Vladivostok is only a matter of time, and even in the face of the fierce attack of the Chinese, it may be difficult to hold out for a month.

The commander's question got the audience to speak, and the commanders of the fortress, the navy, and the 7th and 9th Divisions all agreed that resistance must continue, but the commanders of the 8th and 10th Divisions made the exact opposite. They don't think there's any point in continuing to resist.

"Now that Cobra Fort has been breached by the Chinese, it means that they can cut off the various forts from the rear and thus isolate the individual forts......"

The chief of staff of the 8th Division, Lieutenant Colonel Dmitrievsky, said in a firm tone.

"Once the fortresses were isolated. Then it is only a matter of time before it falls, and any more resistance will only increase the casualties of the dreadnought! ”

"There are now more than 500,000 rounds of bombs and shrapnel of various calibers in the warehouses of various fortresses! The main force of our army is still there, and it is completely ready to fight! ”

"Even if you continue to fight, what can you do? Just a few hours ago, we knew that Kondruff had a glass of vodka at lunchtime, and now, we don't even know if he was already dead! Even without us knowing anything. The fortress has fallen, and if it continues, perhaps by this time tomorrow. All fortresses will fall......"

"When the time comes, everyone will die! Died in vain! Shavetsky, Gaydunin and others also refuted his words with a position similar to Dmitryevsky's.

"But don't forget that the Chinese are not having a better time than we are, and now the weather temperature is dropping. They freeze far more than we do. The soldiers can still support it......"

Nagian, the commander of the 7th Division, still insisted on his opinion that it was necessary to fight for the honor of Russia.

"If we surrender after only two weeks of resistance, then the honor of the Russian military will also be discarded in our hands, and we will undoubtedly all be sinners of Russia!"

"Yes, honor is important, but don't forget about those soldiers. Only the cruel and ruthless would force them to continue fighting, and they have done their best. Each and every one of you knows very well that our heroic soldiers are not fighting with the Chinese, but with steel, and the Chinese dump thousands of tons of steel here with cannons, airships, warships, even iron men can hardly hold out under such firepower, but they persist, for the future of Russia, they must be preserved, they have the right to continue to live, and not sacrifice here in vain! ”

Nekrashvich even had tears in his eyes when referring to those brave officers and soldiers, in his opinion, the Chinese turned the war into hell, and the brave and fearless soldiers persevered in hell, and now, it's time to end everything!

"It's not time to disarm and surrender, I still have at least fifty plans to hold here! Never lose even a fortress again......"

As soon as Sminov's words were finished, a young staff officer hurriedly interrupted him—a battery leading to the city had fallen, and the defense line defended by thousands of Russian soldiers had been torn apart.

The disappearance from the front line changed the atmosphere in the conference room, and everyone shook their heads helplessly and smiled bitterly, although they were not familiar with the Chinese calendar, but they knew very well that now there was only one day left before the timetable that Chinese set for themselves, and Chinese would desperately tear open the passage to the city, as for the fortresses on both sides...... For the Chinese, they even expected the fortified troops to rush out of the fortress. Maybe tomorrow morning, they will plant their flags in the city.

"The mission of Vladivostok is to defend the fleet, and at this point, it can be said that it has ended from the beginning, because the fleet is not here, and now for the situation in the Far East as a whole, our continued defense here will not only not help the situation of the war, but may even become a burden to the whole campaign, and continuing to defend will only make Chinese rush in, occupy the city, and pay more ......"

Reis, chief of staff of the 10th Division, said in an extremely calm tone.

Vladivostok is a port city, it was once the base of the Pacific Fleet and the bridgehead of the Russian Empire in the Far East, but now, with the Pacific Fleet command moving east, there is no need for the city to hold on.

"There is no need to continue firmly, what if the reinforced fleet comes? If they come here......"

Reis's words were immediately opposed by the commander of the 9th Division. Just two days ago, they received a secret telegram from St. Petersburg, asking them to continue holding on - soon reinforcements will arrive by land and sea, and while sending hundreds of thousands of army reinforcements, Russia will also send the largest naval fleet ever to reinforce the Far East, while breaking the Chinese blockade of the Pacific Fleet. Win the victory at sea and end the war.

"They were there to go to Constantine, to join forces with the Pacific Fleet. And not to sink with us in this puddle! ”

Stessel said mockingly.

"If for this purpose, then they will not come from Europe for such a long journey!"

As commander, Stexel knew very well that whether Vladivostok could hold on to St. Petersburg now would not actually affect the situation of the war, and now hundreds of thousands of troops were being transferred from Europe to Siberia, the largest expeditionary fleet in history. It is also in the process of being formed.

But their purpose was not to save Vladivostok, the goal of the army was to thwart the Chinese attack on Siberia, as for the naval fleet. Well, it was to protect the jewel in the crown of the tsar, to keep the Viceroyalty of Nicholas.

As for Vladivostok, of course, it is necessary to hold on. You need to stick to it as much as you can. It would be better for the troops who held until Europe to arrive in Transbaikalia, and as for how they held out for so long, that is...... That's his business.

The overwhelming majority of people at the meeting expressed their opinion in favor of continuing to defend.

"In this way, the result of this meeting is to advocate defense to the end!"

After making this conclusion, Stessel looked at the crowd and said. ，

"Well, now that it's decided. Where will we defend in the future? ”

"Please let me report!"

Sminov raised his hand, then pointed to the map.

"The first step is to hold this line of defense. Here, I have five options."

"Please don't say that again......"

"First of all, we must note that after the fall of Fort Cobra, Fort 1, as a prominent fortress, has become an isolated fortress, and there is no need to hold on to it at all, including the many artillery forts that have not yet fallen ahead...... My suggestion is to withdraw from this area, to retreat to the Vlasmir River and to the line of the Nevelskoy Mountains, to take advantage of the field fortifications that we have, and finally to hold on to the city, and of course by then there may be various options, but I don't need to go into them all at this moment......"

"I don't think these lines are of serious defensive significance, after the breakthrough is formed, in the face of the Chinese's assault, each line of defense will not be able to support for a long time, and now, it doesn't matter!"

Compared with Sminov's self-confidence, as the commander of the Stexel was extremely pessimistic, the current situation is indeed very pessimistic, after the meeting, Fu Ke sat at his Stexel's desk and quickly drafted the order, abandoning the "Б", "А", "Д" and other artillery forts, abandoning Fort 7 and all the second line of defense.

"I'll retreat directly to the center of the city!"

Fu Ke looked at the commander and said bluntly, he had made a decision, a decision in his favor.

"Alexander, how can you do this, didn't you already decide to continue defending at the meeting just now?"

"Defense? Even if you withdraw from these places, how can you defend them? Now they can break through our defenses at any time, there is no doubt about it! ”

Fu Ke stared at the commander seriously and said in a helpless but firm tone.

"I'm too lazy to listen to their nonsense, if by tomorrow there is no surrender here, you and I will lose millions of rubles! My friend, this is very important, in any case, when the war is over, you and I may go to court-martial, although by the time everything is over, we will be left with candles, but then we can be pampered and enjoy peace, okay, I'm gone, this is our last chance......"

"Don't worry, don't worry, you can't go so fast!"

Stessel wanted him to stay a little longer, and he even became a little uncertain about's decision.

"You order Reis to prepare an official letter proposing surrender, which must reach the headquarters of the Chinese army by eight o'clock tomorrow night!"

With that, left without looking back, leaving Stessel alone.

"Tomorrow night at eight o'clock ......"

The departure of the chief of staff made Stexel repeatedly think about this time in his heart, which was obtained through a certain private channel, and it was also an ultimatum for the Chinese.

In fact, even though the city was under siege, there were still many Chinese spies in the city - after all, there were tens of thousands of Chinese and Russians living in the city, who had made some contact with Stexel through some channels, and Chinese merchants had offered him a price as early as the outbreak of war.

If the fort surrendered, the "merchants" whose property had been preserved would "buy" the equipment of each fort at a suitable price as compensation. At that time, they offered a high price of 12 million rubles, and in the last two weeks 12 million has shrunk to 4 million. If at first, Stexel took it as a joke, now he can't laugh.

The reason why he couldn't laugh was not because of the "shrinking of property", but because deep down he also agreed with's judgment - now that the fall of the city was inevitable, it was undoubtedly right to make the best choice for himself, and unless they could hold this place until the war was won, they could not avoid the fate of court-martial. Then, before the inevitable defeat comes, it may be time to seize the opportunity to make a final deal...... (To be continued.) )