The poignant retreat and the continuous raising of flares pulled back the Cossack cavalry, which had suffered heavy casualties. Major General Badanov, commander of the 3rd Siberian Cavalry Division, stood on a stone by the tree with a gloomy face, and the whip in his hand kept whipping his dusty and mud-stained riding boots.

The first onslaught on the town of Boletus was defeated by the pre-sunset afterglow, and General Badanov's hopes of a surprise attack on his opponent were dashed! The Chinese had too much firepower, they had at least a dozen artillery pieces that could be used freely, and now, the enemy's artillery was still roaring, and from time to time in the fire of the shells, you could see the tragic situation of their troops turning on their backs. But the enemy's machine guns had stopped firing, indicating that the troops had all withdrawn.

It was not the artillery that inflicted heavy casualties on the attacking troops just now, but the dense network of fire composed of countless machine guns of the opponent. Major General Badanov, who had participated in the Battle of Shendanbao six years earlier, seemed to have returned to the battle that gave the Cossack riders a permanent nightmare, and the opponent in front of him seemed to have more machine guns than Akiyama Yoshiko.

Major General Badanov was at that time nothing more than a cavalry regiment commander under General Mishuchenko.

"General, we must mobilize more artillery." Colonel Popov ran over, "Their firepower is too strong, stronger than the Japanese!" ”

"I know this! Immediately organize the troops and count the casualties! Badanov whipped the whip on the trunk of the tree fiercely.

Participating in the offensive were two cavalry regiments of Badanov. Thinking of seizing the key point of Boletus in one fell swoop, Badanov threw out all the forces in his hands at once. However, they were defeated by the opponent's accurate shelling and the impenetrable rain of machine-gun bullets.

"When did the Chinese become so strong?" Badanov remembered the rumor that upset him, that is, the evaluation of the Russian and Japanese armies by a scholar in Petersburg during the Russo-Japanese War, before the war, the professor asserted that one Russian soldier could deal with three Japanese; While the war was still raging, the professor had quietly revised his predictions to assume that one Russian soldier could only deal with one Japanese. After the Battle of Mukden, it was this professor who put forward the latest prediction that three Russian soldiers would not be able to defeat a Japanese! Badanov, who had always believed that the Europeans were superior, was distressed by this, but there was always an explanation for failure. Even if it's a lie to comfort yourself. It's also better than nothing. Therefore, Badanov believed that the defeat to the Japanese in Manchuria was not a problem of the army, but a blind command from above, and the tsar-appointed minister of war and the commander-in-chief of the Far Eastern Army were rice buckets. But now it's not the tenacious Japanese file that is being dealt with. But the Chinese with a pig's tail in the back of their head! For more than 100 years. When did the imperial soldiers ever lose to the Chinese? Will the glorious record be written by oneself?

But the situation was too late for him to indulge in his imagination. While General Badanov waited for the Chief of Staff to report on casualties and the reorganization of his troops, fierce gunfire and shouts were heard almost simultaneously from the north and south, interspersed with the roaring sound of horses' hooves. "Oops, the enemy has taken advantage of the situation to fight back!"

Badanov jumped on the boulder again, raised his telescope to observe through the last rays of the day, then jumped down and shouted, "Hold on, give me the yellow monkey!" Badanov grabbed the war horse that the guards had brought and turned over on his horse. The guard company that had been following him also mounted their horses and followed the division commander in a northeast direction.

But the newly withdrawn Cossack cavalry did not have time to organize effective resistance. It's a chaotic scene everywhere. Obviously, the enemy's cavalry brigade had already quietly moved outside the town, and they seized their weakest moment to launch a counterattack.

"Kill, drive the yellow-skinned monkey back with a saber!" Badanov drew his saber, but was grabbed by the guard, "The division commander retreats quickly, otherwise it will be too late." ”

Three consecutive 75mm shells fell near the left, and the guard, who grabbed the reins of Badanov and prevented the division commander from charging, fell off his horse, apparently he was shot. Badanov did not bother to save his loyal guards, turned his horse's head and fled westward.

Chi Chunxian's resolute counterattack after repelling the Russian attack crushed the main force of the Russian 3rd Cavalry Division. On the night of 28 April, two regiments of the Independent Cavalry Brigade, the 2nd and 3rd Regiments, pursued the enemy westward, having lost effective resistance.

"Since it has been decided to retreat, it is necessary to crush the enemy in front of you. Otherwise, how can we rendezvous with the mixed brigade? Besides, the riding regiment is not yet known, and it must be brought back. Chi Chunxian ignored the opposition of the chief of staff and quickly launched a counterattack.

The troops had already learned of the death of Commander Lushan and could not block it at all. The troops were enraged, and the feelings of the officers influenced the soldiers, who were determined to avenge their beloved Commander Lu by annihilating the enemy in front of them.

The cavalry battle in the dark of night was a melee, the flags and trumpets were ineffective, the commanders on both sides could not effectively control the troops, and in the wilderness west of the town of Boletus, a large number of cavalry were intertwined, shooting at each other, slashing with sabers, and the scene was extremely chaotic.

Chi Chunxian's cavalry brigade had the advantage of strong troops, and took advantage of the gap in the enemy's failed attack to organize it, and destroyed Badanov's main force in a counterattack.

There is indeed an imbalance in the number of troops. Badanov's 3rd Cavalry Division had 3 regiments, each regiment had 5 cavalry companies, plus 1 cavalry battery, a total of 16 companies. However, only two regiments were engaged in the attack on Boletus, and the other regiment was holding off another cavalry unit of the Chinese army, preparing to annihilate the Chinese cavalry with the friendly 7th Cavalry Division.

However, the troops that launched the counterattack first in Chi Chun had as many as 20 cavalry companies. The independent cavalry brigade has jurisdiction over 3 cavalry regiments, and it is rare to set up a battalion-level establishment that is rare for cavalry, with 3 companies per battalion and an additional cavalry artillery company (4 heavy machine guns and 4 mortars), and each regiment is 12 companies.

Badanov's troops were stained with the light of the night, and if it was during the day, it was likely that the losses would have been greater. However, the darkness also neutralized the skillful fighting skills of the Cossack cavalry, and when the command orders at all levels failed, the arrogant and brave Cossack cavalry had no choice but to escape.

The characteristic sound of light machine gun fire suddenly sounded in the west made Duan Xingmao, chief of staff of the Independent Cavalry Brigade, who was the commander-in-chief of the counterattack, very happy. That's a ride in a ball! The cavalry regiment, which had been worried, was indeed surrounded by the Russians. Duan Xingmao commanded the troops to attack in the direction of the gunfire, and in one fell swoop swept away the encirclement of the Russian army, and picked up the cavalry regiment that had decisively launched a breakthrough -- they were also going to break through by night.

Duan Xingmao and all the officers in the headquarters did not allow Chi Chun to lead the army to attack first, and the expeditionary force could no longer lose its own commander. And Duan Xingmao, who had saved to avenge Lushan, calmed down after launching a counterattack, and Shi Niankui, chief of staff of the headquarters, was right, we did not have the strength to argue with the Russians in the Tangnu Ulianghai area! Erkou (Irkutsk) is only 200 kilometers away, and Erkou is located on the Trans-Siberian Railway, which is convenient for the transfer of troops and materials, and we are already thousands of kilometers away from the rear. Compared with logistics alone, the two sides are not on the same level!

"Pick up a ride and it's a victory! It's a long time coming. We'll see! Duan Xingmao remembered Chi Chun's words first. After confirming the rendezvous with the main forces of the 1st Mounted Regiment. Duan Xingmao used a flare to send a notice to retreat.

Taking advantage of the dark night, the cavalry brigade of the Chinese army gradually disengaged from the Russian army. After containing wounded soldiers, horses, and six cannons abandoned by the Russian army, Duan Xingmai commanded the Second Cavalry Regiment to retreat towards the town of Boletus.

The defeated Russian army did not launch a pursuit.

It's not that the Russian army doesn't want to pursue. Rather, they were powerless to launch a pursuit. They must hold on to the point of Chahambulon, located 50 kilometres southwest of Boletus. There were all the baggage of the 3rd and 7th divisions. If the Chinese army captures Chahanbulon, these two divisions will be finished!

On April 28, Beijing celebrated the founding of the People's Republic of China. And in the Tangnu-Ulianghai area, thousands of miles away, the Chinese and Russian armies fought in the form of encounters, which was characterized by one word: chaos!

The 1st Cavalry Regiment was surrounded on the morning of 28 April 15 kilometres north-east of Tsahanbulon, and they were ordered to march towards Tsahambron. This place is the next important settlement that the expeditionary force is scheduled to capture, but unexpectedly, the main force of the Russian army has already occupied this place. Like Badanov, the 1st Cavalry Regiment that went out failed in its attack on Chahanbulon, and then found that a large number of Russian cavalry appeared on both flanks, and the 1st Cavalry Regiment immediately fell into a melee and suffered a little loss. The Russian Seventh Cavalry Division was very effective, especially in mobile cavalry engagements. Thinking of the principles of engagement with the Russian cavalry that had been laid down in advance, the 1st Cavalry Regiment shrank its forces and found a larger settlement to hold on to the spot and wait for the arrival of the main force. Now that the main force of the Russian army has appeared in Chahambulon, it is not enough to rely on a regiment of mortars on horseback, and it is necessary to wait for its own artillery to come up. The main officers of the 1st Cavalry Regiment seemed to have forgotten their previous repeated emphasis on responding to the warnings of the Russian army with caution. Middle- and lower-ranking officers do not pay much attention to strategic issues, let alone diplomatic issues, they only think about the present.

After riding a regiment "squat". The roaring Russian army immediately surrounded it and immediately launched an attack. But the attack was still lost, and the cavalry attack on the established positions with a large number of machine guns was simply looking for death. The commander of the 7th Cavalry Division also had a headache, the enemy was not an ordinary small force, at least a full-fledged cavalry division. The commander of the 7th Cavalry Division reported to his superiors that he also asked for artillery fire support, but the Russian army's deployment was also chaotic, and the four cavalry divisions that were ordered to eliminate the "attacking" Chinese army were divided into two routes, one way to capture Boletus, and the other to attack Hatkule, which was confirmed to be occupied by the Chinese army. The 3rd Division and the 7th Division, which were responsible for capturing Boletus, were divided again, with the 3rd Division in the east and the 7th Division in the west, and launched a wide frontal search and advance, and the 7th Division seized the main force of the Chinese army, and indeed could not contact the 3rd Division on the left flank. Finally found a regiment of the 3rd Division, the commander of the 7th Division, as the commander of the Right Route Army, ordered the regiment to insert the regiment behind the Chinese army to close the encirclement, after this regiment of the 3rd Division joined, the Chinese cavalry division was indeed surrounded, but the next battle situation took a sharp turn, the surrounded Chinese army was not the main force at all, and their main force defeated the damned Badanov! And the prey that surrounded him was saved!

The Chinese Expeditionary Force did not think that they were surrounded, and they were still confidently waiting for the arrival of the main force, so that they could destroy the enemy in front of them in one fell swoop. They didn't expect that their rear was already in chaos, Lu Shan's accidental attack and death was the biggest variable, and the headquarters had already given up this march on Tangnu Ulianghai. Several groups of cavalry communicators sent out to make contact with the main forces were either killed or lost news. Yang Zhongyi, the commander of the 1st Cavalry Regiment, calmed down after studying with several major officers, and the worst situation that he had feared appeared - the Russians sent troops! And it's a large regular army. In this situation, it is serious to highlight first to meet with the main force. For cavalrymen who advocate mobile warfare, retreating dozens of miles is nothing.

The cavalry regiment decided to break through to the southeast after nightfall. Don't go the way, there is obviously a stronger Russian army intercepting there. But the situation changed again, the fierce gunfire was getting closer and closer, and it was definitely the main attack coming. Commander Yang Zhongyi didn't bother to analyze why he sent troops to meet at night, so he immediately ordered to attack the guns, and he joined the main force very smoothly.

After a lot of effort, Yang Zhongyi finally met his old boss Duan Xingmao. Duan Xingmao was the commander of the 1st Cavalry Regiment before he became chief of staff, and Yang Zhongyi was only the battalion commander.

"What about troop losses?" Duan Xingmao asked.

"The loss is not large, the establishment is complete. The commander of the third battalion has died, and I have designated the deputy battalion commander to take over. ”

"The situation has changed, and immediately retreat towards Boletus. I took the second group after the break. ”

"In front of me is the 7th Cavalry Division of the Russian Army, their strength is not strong, there is no infantry cooperation, and there is not much artillery. The main force came up, just in time to capture Chahanbulon in one fell swoop. Yang Zhongyi was a little puzzled by the retreat.

"Stop talking nonsense. Fall back! Take all the wounded with them, and don't leave any of them behind. Also, take care to bring back all the enemy's horses. ”

At dawn, the main forces of the cavalry brigade that attacked returned to Boletus one after another. Counting the results of the battle, the cavalry brigade lost more than 200 people, including the seriously wounded who were estimated to be unable to survive. But the losses of the Russians were clearly heavier, with more than 200 corpses abandoned in the northwest and southwest of Boletus alone. As for the capture, because the cavalry brigade controlled the battlefield, the heavy weapons abandoned by the Russian army were basically brought back, but the light weapons could not be carefully cleaned because it was dark night, so they had to be abandoned.

Chi Chunxian breathed a long sigh of relief because he had returned safely from riding a group. He gathered the main officers, listened to the report of Duan Xingmao's attack, and then decided, "The main force of the Russian army has been found in the direction of Khatkule, and now we are facing at least four divisions of the Russian army. It was necessary to abandon Boletus, and the whole brigade turned in the direction of Hatkule, ignoring the two divisions to the west, and first attacking the Russian army in Hatkule from behind the enemy, striving to annihilate it. The enemy is divided into two places, which gives us a chance to defeat each other! For specific deployment, Chief of Staff Duan led the 1st Cavalry Regiment, the Headquarters Guard Battalion to protect the headquarters organs and artillery after dawn and moved towards Hatkule. The other two regiments rested for three hours, and I led them to set off overnight. (To be continued......)