"God, this can't be. How could those cowardly cavalrymen in the East defeat the Cossacks? "The remaining major Gochoyev in the camp of the Russian army is simply going crazy. Watching the wolf bèi flee back with more than a hundred Cossack cavalry, my brain was completely confused! Except for shouting his God, at this moment there was no reaction to even immediately alert Chernyaev.

Twenty minutes later, the pale-faced Chernyaev led two companies of Russian infantry to urgently return to the camp.

There was only one half-crippled infantry company in the northern stronghold, and the total number of men lost in battle was only sixty or seventy. But the vitality of a Cossack battalion was greatly damaged, and the situation was much more severe. Chernyaev could only draw troops from the front to consolidate the rear camp.

"Oh God!" Seeing the Cossacks of no more than one hundred and fifty or sixty people remaining, Chernyaev was also stunned. "How could there be such a big loss?" There were more than 400 people in this battalion! And the battalion commander is also gone, and the top officer is left with a lieutenant.

"Lieutenant, what's going on? Are you the only ones left with a battalion of Cossacks? You know? You did something that the Cossacks had not done for 200 years - you lost to a group of Tatar cavalry! ”

"You have made the situation worse for our army!"

With the loss of the stronghold in the north, the Russian camp has nothing to rely on except for the frontal position. The expeditionary army's infantry troops could not only get close to the camp, but could also cut through the camp and directly between it and Borohugil. What's more, Liu Xian can echo the frontal team from the flank, and the two sides will start to outflank and intercept from the south of the Russian camp, threatening or even cutting off the Russian army's water source.

The lieutenant hung his head and said nothing. Today the Cossacks are losing to their pride and conceit. If they don't make a head-on assault on the array of the expeditionary army and make a detour. Although we must be careful of the impact of the 300 cavalry of the expeditionary army, they will not be defeated at all to this point.

The combat effectiveness of the Cossacks was really quite good. Fighting on horseback, the six hundred cavalry of the Qin army really could not win a battalion of Cossacks.

The lieutenant had nothing to say about today's defeat. The enemy's tactics were peculiar, a part of the cavalry made infantry formations, and the neat platoon shot to knock out the Cossacks' edge. At a distance of less than 100 meters, the cavalry with 300 rear mounted cavalry charged in just a few seconds, and they rushed in front of them without giving the frustrated Cossacks a chance to adjust. Then the cavalry in the infantry column turned over and did the second wave of attacks. A huge impact crashed into the Cossacks who were fighting with the vanguard cavalry. Directly crushed the Cossack cavalry group, whose kinetic energy was almost halved.

"Oh?" Such tactics? Chernyaev also let out an exclamation after listening to the lieutenant's story.

"And the Qing cavalry was armed with a large number of pistols. A revolver that can fire in bursts. Major Konev died under the fire of a pistol! "The sudden death of the battalion commander was also a major cause of the Cossack fiasco.

Chernyaev stopped talking. The defeat of the Cossacks in this battle was not defeated by the enemy, but a victory in strength and tactics. Chernyaev had to think carefully about a problem that he had never considered before - the defeat of the Cossack cavalry.

If the Qing * team can defeat one Cossack battalion, then they can defeat the second.

Chernyaev now had 600 Cossack cavalry under his command, even with the defeated soldiers in front of him. Divided into two and placed in the frontal position and camp, will it be safe?

……

The expeditionary army began at two o'clock in the night and continued until the end of the battle at this moment.

Liu Xian completely achieved his expected combat goals. Captured the defensive line on the periphery of the Russian army, seized the stronghold in the north of the Russian army, and mounted the Russian army on foot.

Although they paid a heavy price, the Russian army also lost a lot of people, and even lost about 300 Cossack cavalry. In general, the losses of the Russian army are still more than those of the expeditionary army. Three hundred Cossacks 'pit'. Fill in all the 'profits' made by the Russian army in the defensive posture, and there is not enough.

How the Russian army will fight next, Liu Xian already has a spectrum. The reinforcements of the Russian army will not be able to reach Ili for a while. Defend the front lines on both sides. To prevent Chernyaev from breaking through, he had time to settle Chernyaev.

"The next step is to cut off their water supply."

A very simple map was placed on the case in the military tent, Liu Xian pointed to the southern hills and streams where the Russian army camp was located, and said to Xu Dongshan and Leshan, the two leaders of the volunteer battalion, "The task of your two brigades is to occupy the surrounding hills and heights step by step. As much as possible, prevent the Russian army from carrying water into the camp. ”

"Don't worry, sir." Xu Dongshan and Le Shan, the only 'recruits' in the volunteer battalion, were awe-inspiringly ordered. They were all from the Manchu and Han garrisons in Yili and had fought wars. He has seen blood, and his prestige among the remnants is very great. So Liu Xian mentioned them as captains.

Similarly, the two had a certain amount of expression on the battlefield before. Maybe it's not brilliant, but it's not wrong, is it?

"I'll send all the artillery to support you."

"This generation is all mountainous and hilly, and the Russian artillery fire is very large, and it is impossible to deal with it. But our mortars are more than capable of providing you with the necessary firepower. So, in three days, I want you to take this, this, this, these three high points for me—"

Liu Xian's finger tapped on the three most prominent heights to the south of the Russian camp. It is impossible to fire directly under these three heights in a war, and if you want to seize these three heights, you must advance the battle line in front of these three heights. So Liu Xian gave them three days.

"Humble command. In three days, you will win the three highlands! ”

……

Chernyaev did not choose to counterattack the stronghold in the north, and the Russian army was nervously building fortifications and tunnels to cope with possible attacks in the north and behind. Of course, as a qualified military commander, Chernyaev did not forget to protect his water source. A company of infantry was placed on the high ground of the hills to the south.

Boom Boom Boom ......

The battle was first fought on the Western Road, where the expeditionary army launched a feint attack from behind the Russian army.

The strength of the two squadrons was bombarded back by several artillery shots from the Russian army.

Liu Xian did not pay attention to the success or failure of the offensive on the western route at all, because his real killing move was not the west at all, nor the upcoming offensive from the north and front.

His purpose has never changed - to cut off the water supply of the Russian army first. The two battalions of the Volunteer Battalion with twenty mortars had already moved into the southern hills and mountains.

As the edge of the Kulongwe Mountains, the hills and highlands in the south of the Russian army camp are not very high, and there are few mountains that exceed 300 meters. Especially in the area close to the Russian military camp, the hill with a height of 100 meters is the theme. The second is also a loss, otherwise the quality of the mortar cannon made by Liu Xian is really not qualified for supporting firepower.

The two brigades numbered not a thousand, but only a little over 800. The Volunteer Battalion was already fully organized, and the losses from the previous battle could not be replenished as immediately as they had been at the beginning.

Xu Dongshan and Le Shan cautiously crossed the mountain streams and approached the Russian camp. They don't really want to be able to directly attach the three target heights, but it is better to be discovered a little later.

But what should come is still coming.

The commander of the infantry company of the Russian army was not stupid enough to unite all his forces in one place and just hold the water source nearby. He still sent a squad of soldiers as the front to expand the team's alert range.

Naturally, when the soldiers and horses of the two brigades of the Volunteer Battalion came into the sight of the Russian soldiers, their whereabouts were discovered.

If your whereabouts are discovered, then fight!

Xu Dongshan and Le Shan did not hesitate at all, and immediately led their troops to break north. Taking advantage of the fact that the Russian army was unable to rub their hands, they directly broke through to the north for about a mile, and passed five hills that were intertwined and juxtaposed before being resisted by the Russian infantry company. And the Russian squad that discovered the whereabouts of the Volunteer Battalion, except for the two soldiers who went back to report the news, survived, and the rest were all lost in the guns of the Volunteer Battalion.

The Russian army is only an infantry company, and there is a shortage of major generals, and there are less than 100 people. It was deployed on two hills, each with no more than fifty soldiers.

Xu Dongshan and Le Shan looked at one on one side, and on the other side, they concentrated twenty mortars and fired with all their might. and directly threw four times the strength of the defenders into the hill.

If the Russian army is holding a rear-loading rifle, relying on the absolute superiority in the rate of fire, it can still resist in front of the volunteer battalion. But they were armed with Mini-style rifles, and there were no grenades, an artifact for mountain warfare, and after only two waves of offensives, the Russian army on the hill could not support it, leaving behind thirty corpses and wounded soldiers, and retreated in panic.

However, their resistance had bought the Russians the necessary time, and Chernyaev mobilized a company of infantry to form a new line of defense in the rear.

The combined strength of the Russian army has reached 1670 people, relying on curved trenches and anti-artillery holes, and two hills with heights of close to and more than 200 meters respectively, Xu Dongshan and Leshan took advantage of the situation to storm and did not achieve any results except for the death and wounding of twenty or thirty soldiers.

Insert it from the middle, that is looking for death; Bypassing from both sides, directly except for the range of the Russian army's camp, you have to enter the frontal position of the Russian army, and obviously you can't. There is only one way in front of the Volunteer Battalion - to kill it!

The last moments of the day pass, night falls, and night comes.

Flames burned halfway up the two hills, and the trees that grew on the mountains became fuel for the fires. The Russian army used this method to put an end to the sneak attack of the Volunteer Battalion. At the same time, they also set up a secret whistle at the foot of the mountain, Xu Dongshan and Le Shan wanted to touch it quietly, but it was a fantasy.

Besides, the fires on the two mountains reflected half the sky. But whether the inky place behind the hill is also ambushed by Russian soldiers, only Chernyaev knows...... (To be continued) R655