Ernen River, Bhaktu.

A large number of Chinese defenders are taking advantage of the pause in the Russian offensive to retreat to the rear. The Russian offensive was fierce. Le Shan did not release the slightest bit of water, and ordered the troops to retreat, because he really felt that he couldn't stand it.

So, it's a 'retreat'. To be precise, it is Le Shan who cannot hold his position.

Because of this, none of the troops at the forefront of the position received an order to retreat, on the contrary, they received a simpler order: hold their positions until six o'clock tomorrow morning!

Among them is the brigade where Zhang Nan is located. When the Independent Brigade was first established, the name of his father Zhang Yuchun was crossed out, and Zhang Nan overcame Zhang Yuchun's lack and became an honorable member of the National Defense Force. It is commendable that Zhang Nan was unscathed in several battles with the Russians, and was also promoted to squad leader by the firing line on the battlefield.

Over the years, Zhang Nan worked hard, took the military academy three times, and finally succeeded, and became a lieutenant officer of the National Defense Army, and then naturally promoted to captain, and now he was promoted to deputy captain by the second line of fire. The deputy captain of their brigade was killed, and the captain was also wounded and needed help from his assistants.

And at the moment of receiving the order, Zhang Nan's brigade had already repelled the third attack of the Russian army that day.

"We have heavy machine guns, artillery, mortars, and we will definitely be able to hold our positions!"

Zhang Nan held the order sent by the battalion commander in his hand. Stand in the trenches and cheer up the same confident men. Because he didn't know yet, their brigade had actually become the rearguard covering the retreat of the main forces. After this battle, no one can guarantee how many people in this brigade will survive.

Soldier. Many times it is always the duty to carry out orders, and there are always so many people who can't help themselves.

Late at night. Cold guns still rang out from time to time. The bullet dragged a long note across the dark night sky. Fires flickered near and far, and occasionally there was an explosion or two. Dull and long.

Everything is still a reminder that this is a battlefield.

In the evening, the fighting was fierce. A number of positions are fighting white-knuckle battles. There are so many Russian troops that they can't kill them with pistols. After nightfall, the Russian army launched another attack, and the remaining troops could not support it, so they had to stand and retreat to the rear, and the relics of the war abounded.

The bodies of the dead soldiers of the two armies were scattered all over the battlefield, and those broken rifles, scattered bullet casings, and bloody bayonets were all silently telling people about the ruthlessness and ruthlessness of war.

The night was dark and dreary. There were stars in the sky. There is little rain in this place, and the night sky is so bright. The smoke that permeated the entire battlefield had cleared, and some lights flickered on the ground, some of which were still burning in the ruins of fortifications, and some of which were lanterns carried in the hands of soldiers.

One blow, then three times and exhaustion.

When the onslaught at night failed to completely take the defensive line, the Russian army also lost the ** of the offensive. Because the time is late, the time has been missed. Even if they were able to completely defeat the broken Chinese forces in the next wave of the offensive, it would be too late to take advantage of the victory to pursue the main force of the retreating Chinese army.

However, the Russians did capture some fighters of the Independent Brigade. From their mouths, they asked about the specific strength of the Chinese troops on the front line of the Ernen River. There is really only one separate brigade. Perhaps at the most critical juncture, Tarbahatai can squeeze out one or two thousand young people, but compared with the strength of the five divisions of the Russian army, it is still inferior.

In command of these five divisions was an old acquaintance of the Wehrmacht, Skobelev. Skobelev, who had suffered the biggest setback in his life, returned to St. Petersburg, relying on his affection in front of the Tsar. Relying on the power of his own family, like Shirokov, he made a comeback after three years of silence. Flattened the last resistance of the indigenous people of Central Asia for Russia - Akhal. Turkmen of the Jetkin Oasis.

At that time, Tsarist Russia had already built from the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea to Akhal. For the military railway of the Czech oasis, Skobelev also requisitioned 20,000 camels. So that the logistics supply of the Russian expedition has a strong guarantee. In the summer of 1885, Skobelev led an army of 11,000 people. With 97 cannons, he invaded Turkmenistan again.

The Turkmens are not lagging behind in weapons, they have the British behind them. However, in the application of modern armaments, they are much inferior to the Russians. Under the continuous bombardment of the Russian heavy artillery, Geok. Tepe persisted for 3 weeks. The Russians captured Geok at the cost of more than 2,000 dead and wounded. Thepe. Then, regardless of men, women, and children, they slaughtered 8,000 Turkmen who did not have time to evacuate. Then the Russian army continued its offensive and occupied Ashgabat (the capital of present-day Turkmenistan) and plundered a large number of Akhal. The Jackin thoroughbred (sweat BMW) was used as a breeding horse for the Russian army. By autumn, Skobelev captured the last important town of the Turkmens, the city of Merv, the hub to Iran and Afghanistan. From the city of Merv, it continued south along the Murghab and Kushka rivers to the Kushka valley on the Afghan border. Because Kushka was only 70 miles away from British-controlled Herat, a strategic location between the Caspian Sea, the Amu Darya, and the Indus River, the Anglo-Russian contradictions were tense for a time.

Skobelev relied on this expedition to successfully return to the sequence of famous Russian generals. Now he is still a lieutenant general, not the infantry general who made great military achievements at the age of 38 in the history of the original plane.

A few stars twinkled in the night sky, and the cold wind in the night sky of Ili was still there.

It was already three o'clock in the morning, and Liu Xian's headquarters was still brightly lit. As the center of operations on the entire Western Front, there were forty or fifty staff officers alone, and there was still a lot of noise in the middle of the night. The officers held documents and telegrams in their hands, and went in and out of the 'tick-tock' telegrams coming from the telegram mailroom, summing up all the intelligence and news on Liu Xian's desk at the first time.

"Report! Tacheng called, and the Independent Brigade had retreated to the second line of defense. The Russian army is on the offensive fiercely. ”

Liu Xian waved his hand to indicate that he understood. It is clear on the virtual map that the independent brigade lost two brigades in this battle. Although the Russian army has suffered more losses, the number of Russian troops is also large. Five full-strength divisions, 60,000 or 70,000 people.

The next day was late in the morning and late at night, and Tacheng continued to send military reports, the vanguard of the Russian army had reached the railway station in Tarbagatai, and a large number of Russian troops were still pouring in.

One more day! One more day! One more day! On the fifth day......

"Report! The Tacheng cable telegraph office has fallen into the hands of the Russian army, and they have invented the code telegram through the telegram network and announced the capture of Tacheng. ”

From the start of the Russian army attack in Alahu to the time they took Tacheng, it took a total of five days. It's really fast!

The Independent Brigade lost more than 3,000 people, and military newspapers were sent to Ili one by one.

All the staff officers of the command are busy late into the night these days. As the commander-in-chief, Liu Xian's eyes were also red, and he relied on cups of strong tea to refresh himself. And the emperor doesn't sleep, and the others naturally don't dare to be lazy, and everyone is working hard to win the victory with their eyelids on their eyelids. It is by no means an easy task to completely annihilate five divisions of the Russian army in one go. This is especially true when the strength of our forces is almost equal.

Picking up the teacup, Liu Xian drank the thick and bitter tea. The Russian army is in the urn, it's time to close the net!

"Order the 4th Infantry Division, the Yumen Garrison Regiment, the 16th Brigade of the 8th Cavalry Division...... "It's time for this army to come in handy." And Shi Donglai, the commander of the Fourth Integrated Infantry Division, will never let himself down.

After Shi Donglai received Liu Xian's order, he did not delay at all. Immediately ordered the troops that had been prepared to attack, and ordered the 16th Cavalry Brigade to attack first, 1. Cooperate with the rest of the Independent Brigade to combat the momentum of the Russian army's pursuit while the victory is won; 2. Cut off the connection between the Russian army in Tarbagatai and Lake Ala.

This battle has been fought for five days, and it is known that the Russian army in Alahu has only a small number of cavalry units. It is the absolute main force of infantry!

And the battle plan formulated by Liu Xian these days is also to first besiege the Russian army in Tarbagatai and cut off the supply of the Russian army. Bombarding the Russian army with long-range heavy artillery, demoralizing the Russian army, and then solving it in one fell swoop. During this period, it is necessary to see if the Russian army has any plans to come to the rescue. If there is, then surround the point and send reinforcements!

Tarbagatai is a small city, even in later generations, including the rural people, there are only 150,000 people in total. At this time, Tarbagatai had a population of less than 5,000. It is impossible to say whether there are 100,000 people in the entire Tacheng area. This is also more than 50,000 immigrants in recent years.

In the mainland, the small Tarbagatai is just a small town at all.

Therefore, it was very easy for the Russian army to fight Tacheng, and when the Wehrmacht was planning this battle, Liu Xian never regarded Tacheng as a real 'city'. There is more of a geographical noun.

When Leshan withdrew from Tarbagatai, the entire city was in ruins. Not to mention the grain, there was not even a single piece of wood, all the trees and crops outside the city were cut down and burned, and all the wells inside and outside the city were filled in. Although Tarbagatai is not far from the Ernen River, it will take a while to dig a new well to get water. What's more important is fuel. There is not enough wood, and the Russian army can't even eat a mouthful of food.

Therefore, Shi Donglai's attack must be swift and ferocious. So that Skobelev can't go if he wants to.

Of course, the Russian army is also very likely to use these means as a means for China to obstruct them, and will still make great strides forward in pursuit. Then it depends on the level of the 16th Cavalry Brigade. Whether or not he can give the Russian army a blow in the head, the opportunity is in the hands of Liu Jintang, deputy division commander and brigade commander.

Liu Jintang, who was a major general six years ago, is now a real lieutenant general, and he is set to mix among a group of former generals. When he surrendered with his uncle Liu Songshan, his uncle and nephew obediently entered the military academy. After the irretrievable decline of the Qing Dynasty, Liu Xian began to let the generals lead the troops to fight, and Liu Jintang returned to the mountain. Because of Liu Xian's good impression of him and the very good graduation summary of the Liu family's uncle and nephew, Liu Jintang's starting point is relatively high, and he is the battalion commander as soon as he comes out. When fighting in northern Xinjiang, Liu Jintang, a full-time cavalryman, played very well, and was promoted to major general six years ago and served in the cavalry battalion of the Praetorian Guard Division. When the 8th Cavalry Division was gradual, it naturally rose by one level. (To be continued......)