Back in the morning of July 23, 1854, in Omsk, thousands of artillery pieces of the 1st Army of the Imperial Army were roaring, in addition to the heavy artillery battalions directly under the infantry corps, there were also the 1st and 2nd brigades of heavy artillery reinforced from the territory of the empire, hundreds of main guns with a caliber of more than 105 mm, fiercely firing at the Russian defense line. In addition to this, there were battalions of 75-mm field artillery of various infantry brigades. The power of the 75-mm field guns was not strong, but there were many of them. In an extremely short period of time, the Russian defense line has been plunged into a sea of fire.

Against the 1st Army of the Imperial Army were 6 infantry corps and 2 cavalry corps of the Russian army, totaling 350,000 men. Among them, deployed in front of Omsk were the 11 Infantry Corps, the 12th Infantry Corps and the 13th Infantry Corps of the Russian Army. The other three infantry corps were deployed in other defensive lines in Omsk. The cavalry armies of the two countries are in the rear. These six infantry corps and two cavalry corps were commanded by Russian Army General Alexander.

The 11th Infantry Corps of the Russian Army was heavily shelled by the 1st Army of the Imperial Army. Although at 7 o'clock in the morning, the Russian army had just gotten up for a short time, and there were not many troops on their defensive line. However, the fortifications that the Russians had painstakingly built were destroyed by the artillery bombardment of the Imperial Army. At the same time, the two heavy artillery brigades of the Imperial Army, with a total of 240 155-mm heavy howitzers and 155-mm heavy cannons, used their ultra-long firing range to directly hit the Russian army's barracks on the front line.

When the shelling began, many soldiers were carrying bowls. Queue up to pick up breakfast. Because of economic difficulties, these Russian soldiers had a very poor breakfast, a piece of black bread, and a bowl of potato soup.

"Boom!" A 155-mm shell fell, exploding directly in the crowd. After the explosion of the shell, which weighed more than forty kilograms, it left a large crater in the ground. And those Russian troops around have disappeared. They had been torn to shreds by the tremendous force of the shells. On the ground, there were scattered corpses and broken porcelain shards.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "Shells continued to fall into the barracks of the Russian army, and those Russian troops who were queuing up to receive breakfast were under heavy artillery shelling by the Imperial Army. Heavy casualties were paid. Quite a few people were killed directly. The rest of the people also ran away, scurrying around like flies without heads. The entire front-line barracks of the 11th Infantry Corps of the Russian Army were hit by the 1st Army of the Imperial Army and suffered heavy losses.

"What's going on?" Admiral Alexander, who had set up his headquarters in the rear, heard the rumbling of artillery coming from the front. Rushed out of the command.

"General. The 11th Infantry Corps came under heavy shelling from the Chinese. The casualties are currently unknown. "A staff officer reported to Lieutenant General Alexander.

"Bastard! Since the Chinese dare to launch a sneak attack on us? Commanded Lieutenant General Bourturin. I don't care what method he uses, he must resist the attacks of the Chinese. A telegram was also sent to the 14th Infantry Corps, the 15th Infantry Corps and the 16th Infantry Corps. Ask them to move closer to me right away. The 12th Infantry Corps and the 13th Infantry Corps were ordered, ready for battle. Let the 5th Cossack Cavalry Corps and the 6th Cossack Cavalry Corps be ready to listen to my orders! "Admiral Alexander gave a barrage of orders. Since the battle has begun, it is his duty to do his best to defeat the Chinese attack.

"Yes, General!" The staff officer saluted and quickly left.

It was at this time that a communications officer walked in with a telegram.

"General, a telegram from Marshal Wirtgenstein, the Chinese have officially declared war on us, and His Excellency the Marshal has asked us to prepare and prepare to resist the attack of the Chinese!" Said the communications officer.

"Fool, didn't you hear the shelling of the Chinese? The war has begun! To Marshal Sù Wittgenstein, we have been attacked by the Chinese and are preparing for a counterattack. We need more troops, though! Need more support! Admiral Alexander roared. He realized that this was simply a war that the Chinese Empire had been planning for a long time. As soon as war was declared, the attack of the Chinese* army began. If this was not a conspiracy of the Chinese, he would not have believed him if he was killed.

"Yes, General!" The communications officer nodded, and hurriedly ran away.

The same scene is playing out on the Kostanay front. The 2nd Army of the Chinese Army launched a fierce attack on the Russian army. Thousands of artillery pieces turned the Russian defense line into a sea of fire. The Russian army suffered heavy losses under the sudden attack of the Chinese * army.

Yekaterinburg, inside the command of the Russian army. Lieutenant General Nevelskoy, armed with two telegrams, rushed into the office of Field Marshal Wirtgenstein with an anxious face.

"What's wrong? Lieutenant General Nevelskoy? Field Marshal Wittgenstein asked.

"Your Excellency, the Chinese are on the offensive. Both Admiral Alexander and Admiral Alexei sent telegrams claiming that they had been attacked by a fierce attack by the Chinese* army. Caught off guard, our losses were great. Both generals needed reinforcements. Lieutenant General Nevelskoy said.

Suddenly, Marshal Wittgenstein's face turned pale.

"Damn, we've fallen for those yellow-skinned monkeys. This is a war that they have been planning for a long time, this is simply a conspiracy! Field Marshal Wittgenstein roared angrily. Although, it had already been ordered to prepare the armies at the front for war. However, because the war has not broken out for a long time, and China and Russia are negotiating under the mediation of Britain, France and Prussia. Therefore, everyone thinks that war may not break out in a short time. But unexpectedly, the war broke out suddenly. The Russian army is not prepared at all, and in such a situation, it is conceivable what the consequences will be.

"Admiral Alexander and Alexei must resist the attack of the Chinese. I'll do my best to send them reinforcements! Marshal Wittgenstein said.

"It's Your Excellency Marshal!" Lieutenant General Nevelskoy nodded.

"In addition, give an order to the Grand Duke of Orenburg to immediately lead his army to the east to reinforce Admiral Alexei." Field Marshal Wittgenstein continued to order.

Now the direction of the main offensive of the Chinese * army has been exposed, that is, the Omsk direction and the Chelyabinsk direction. If the Russian troops in these two directions are defeated, then the Chinese will meet in Yekaterinburg. When the time comes, Russia will lose the entire Western Siberian Plain. In addition, more than 700,000 Russian troops will be surrounded and annihilated by the Chinese. This will be a heavy blow to Russia.

"Yes, Your Excellency Marshal!"

In addition to the armies deployed on the front line, the Russian army has reserves of two infantry corps in Orenburg. In addition, there were two infantry corps and two cavalry corps in Yekaterinburg, which were already the last mobile units in the hands of Field Marshal Wittgenstein.

The artillery bombardment of the 11th Infantry Corps of the Russian Army by the 1st Army of the Imperial Army lasted for half the time of disappearance. The Russian defense line was as if it had been plowed with a plowshare. Most of the fortifications were destroyed, and the artillery positions on the front line were the focus of Chinese artillery. A lot of the artillery was destroyed without even firing a single shot. The heavy machine-gun fire points on the front-line defense line were even more torn apart by the shelling.

After the end of the shelling, the 5 infantry brigades of the 1st Infantry Corps of the Imperial Army, which had already entered the forward position, launched an attack on the defensive line of the 11th Infantry Corps of the Russian army on a 20-kilometer front. The 1st Army of the Imperial Army was originally an elite unit in the Imperial Army, and the elite troops were invested in the first battle, which shows that Lieutenant General Zhang Wei, the commander of the 1st Army of the Imperial Army, attached great importance to this battle. He hoped that the Imperial Army would be able to win a big victory in the first battle and win a good start!

"Rush!" Under the cover of artillery fire, tens of thousands of people of the 1st Army of the Imperial Army launched an attack on the Russian defense line in a skirmish line. Mortars and heavy machine guns, as well as light machine guns for each squad, provided fire cover for the troops along the road.

"General, the Chinese are attacking!" A colonel of the Russian army reported to a major general.

"Oh God! So many Chinese! The Russian major general exclaimed.

The main attack was the defense line of the 42nd Infantry Division of the 11th Infantry Corps of the Russian Army, which was 8 kilometers long, but they were attacked by the 1st Infantry Brigade and the 19th Infantry Brigade of the Imperial Army. It stands to reason that the two infantry brigades are only more than 12,000 people, which is equivalent to the strength of the 42nd Infantry Division of the Russian Army. But if in terms of combat power, the Russian army is not an opponent at all. Even though the Russian army has obtained a lot of advanced equipment from Britain and France, it is still far from being comparable to the Chinese army.

"Order the troops, enter the positions and prepare to resist the attack of the Chinese! Also, send a telegram to General Bourturin, we need reinforcements! The commander of the 42nd Infantry Division of the Russian Army ordered with a gloomy face.

"Yes, General!"

The position of the 42nd Infantry Division, located in the salient of the Russian defensive line, was also the most vulnerable to the attack of the Imperial Army. In the previous shelling, the 42nd Infantry Division of the Russian Army was the key target of the Imperial Artillery. In the heavy shelling, the 42nd Infantry Division of the Russian Army suffered heavy losses. At least 2,000 people were killed by the shells, and no less than 2,000 others were injured in the shelling. It can be said that in just a few dozen minutes, the 42nd Infantry Division of the Russian army has lost a third of its troops. More importantly, the morale of the troops took a heavy hit.

"Mortars, heavy machine guns, cover!" The commander of a captain company of the Imperial Army ordered.

Three heavy machine guns and five mortars, set up less than 500 meters from the Russian defense line, opened heavy fire. (To be continued......)

PS: The second update arrives, asking for subscriptions, monthly passes and recommended tickets!