In the West Siberian Plain, nearly two million Chinese and Russian men fought here, and the 1st, 2nd, 8th, 9th, and 10th armies of the Imperial Army were all engaged in battle. Of these, the 1st Army and the 9th Army attacked from the Omsk direction, while the 2nd, 8th and 10th armies attacked from Kustanay.

Initially, in order to confuse the Russians, the Imperial Army only mobilized the 1st Army and the 2nd Army, totaling more than 500,000 men, to attack. Although the Russian army has stationed millions of troops in the West Siberian Plain. However, under the surprise attack of the Imperial Army, in just three days, hundreds of thousands of troops at the front were crushed. The Russians abandoned the line of defense that they had painstakingly built, and the wolf retreated.

The 1st and 2nd armies of the Imperial Army took the opportunity to launch a fierce attack. At the same time, the three army groups deployed in the rear also accelerated to the battlefield. By the beginning of August 1854, all five armies of the Imperial Army had been put into battle.

Chelyabinsk, an important Russian city on the West Siberian Plain. At the time of Catherine the Great's development of the Western Siberian Plain, Chelyabinsk developed rapidly. It became one of the most important cities on the West Siberian plain. Heavy industry here is growing rapidly.

The target of the attack of the 2nd Army of the Imperial Army was Chelyabinsk. The 400,000-strong army led by Russian General Alexei retreated here after the initial defensive line was broken through by the 2nd Army of the Imperial Army. Now, the 2nd Army of the Imperial Army. The 8th Army and the 10th Army, totaling more than 600,000 people. It's already surrounded here.

In the front headquarters, less than ten kilometers from Chelyabinsk, the commander of the 2nd Army of the Imperial Army, Lieutenant General Zhao Mingfu, was thinking about ways to capture Chelyabinsk. Now. There are about 250,000 Russian troops in the city. More than 100,000 other men had been wiped out by the Imperial Army in the previous battle.

"Commander, according to the information we have received, the defenders of Chelyabinsk have received information that they are holding on and waiting for reinforcements. However, Yekaterinburg may not be able to give them many reinforcements, and the 1st Army and the 9th Army led by General Zhang Wei are approaching Yekaterinburg. Yekaterinburg is also difficult to protect itself! Lieutenant General Liu Wu, chief of staff of the 2nd Army, said.

"Hmmm! Russian troops are in Yekaterinburg, how many more are there? When we encircle and annihilate the Russian army in Chelyabinsk, will General Zhang Wei be able to ensure that the Russian army on the Yekaterinburg side is contained? Lieutenant General Zhao Mingfu asked.

"The Russian army in the Yekaterinburg direction is probably about half a million people. General Zhang Wei's 1st Army and 9th Army had a total strength of nearly 400,000 troops. To take Yekaterinburg. Maybe it's a little bit difficult. However, if you want to contain the Russian army there, there will be no problems! Lieutenant General Liu Wu said. Although, on the Yekaterinburg side, the Russian army has an advantage in forces. However, the advantages are not very obvious. The combat effectiveness of the Imperial Army was much stronger than that of the Russian army. 400,000 Imperial Army, if it is a field battle, is enough to defeat 500,000 Russian troops.

"Okay, send a telegram to General Zhang Wei. Let them temporarily contain the main forces of the Russian army, and when we solve the Russian army in Chelyabinsk, we will immediately go north and encircle Yekaterinburg! Lieutenant General Zhao Mingfu said.

Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg were the last two cities to be defended by the Russian army on the West Siberian Plain. Just conquer these two cities. Then the entire Western Siberian Plain was completely under the control of the Imperial Army. Also, before going to war. The total strength of the Russian army is only 1.5 million. After annihilating these millions of Russian troops, the Russian army suffered heavy losses. Want to fight back against the Imperial Army. That is even more impossible, the Imperial Army will completely occupy the advantage of China and Russia on the battlefield.

"Also. Give the order to the 8th and 10th armies, and tomorrow morning we will besiege Chelyabinsk! Lieutenant General Zhao Mingfu said. Although, besieging a city heavily garrisoned by the Russian army will pay a lot of losses. However, fighting a war is like this, how can you win without paying losses. War, it is inevitable that people will die!

"Yes, Commander!" Lieutenant General Liu Wu nodded.

Fifty kilometers south of Yekaterinburg, the 1st and 9th armies of the Imperial Army were attacking Yekaterinburg from two directions. After launching an offensive from Omsk, the 1st Army of the Imperial Army successfully defeated more than 300,000 Russian troops with a strength of 200,000 troops, and also achieved good results. After that, the 1st Army drove straight in, and after the 9th Army joined the battlefield, it quickly advanced to Yekaterinburg, and also caught up with the 2nd Army.

"Commander, General Zhao Mingfu's telegram!" Lieutenant General Zhou Laosi, chief of staff of the 1st Group Army, handed a telegram to Lieutenant General Zhang Wei.

"Oh? What does that guy Zhao Mingfu want to do? Lieutenant General Zhang Wei was a little puzzled. He is now thinking about how to take Yekaterinburg. After all, his 1st Army and the 9th Army, which had been reinforced, had a total strength of less than 400,000 men. And the Russian army in Yekaterinburg still has 500,000 people. In addition, the Russian army has been operating in Yekaterinburg for many years, and Yekaterinburg has already been built into a fortress, and it is really not easy to conquer Yekaterinburg with less than 400,000 people.

Lieutenant General Zhang Wei hopes that the Russian army will take the initiative to attack, so that it will be able to fight a field battle with the Russian army. If it was a field battle, General Zhang Wei was confident that with the strength of less than 400,000 troops of the 1st Army and the 9th Army, he would beat the Russian army to the ground. However, the Russians do not seem to be fooled!

"Haha! Zhao Mingfu, that guy, actually dared to order Lao Tzu to come? However, Lao Tzu now gives him face, helps him watch the Russian army in Yekaterinburg, and asks him to eat the Russian army in Chelyabinsk first. Lieutenant General Zhang Wei laughed.

"Commander, if General Zhao Mingfu stormed Chelyabinsk, the Russian army could send troops to the rescue, it would be great!" Lieutenant General Zhou Laosi said. In this case, the 1st and 9th armies seemed to have a chance.

"It's very unlikely, and the Russians aren't stupid. If they left the fortified city, they would have no choice but to die. Previous battles have proven this. As long as the commander of the Russians had not been kicked in the head by a donkey, he would not have given such an order! Lieutenant General Zhang Wei shook his head. Although, he also very much hoped that the Russian army would give up holding on to the fortified city and fight a decisive battle with the 1st Army. However, this is nothing more than an unrealistic luxury. In the end, the Imperial Army still had to gnaw hard bones.

Yekaterinburg, the seat of the command of the Russian army. Field Marshal of the Russian Army, Marshal Wittgenstein, has been under a lot of pressure these days. The lines of defense on the front line have been broken by the Chinese army, and now only Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg are still under the control of the Russian army. Moreover, Chelyabinsk is still under the siege of the Chinese Army and is in danger. Admiral Alexei sent him telegrams asking for help every day. However, Field Marshal Wittgenstein no longer had spare forces to come to the rescue.

Although Yekaterinburg still had 500,000 troops, more than 200,000 were defeated remnants of the troops withdrawn from the Omsk front. Together with the reinforcements transferred back from Orenburg, this is already the last strength of the Russian army. If it is wiped out by the Chinese army, then the entire West Siberian Plain will be lost.

"Marshal, General Alexei has sent another telegram asking for help. He produced in a telegram that the Chinese army surrounding Chelyabinsk was beginning to move, and the Chinese were expected to attack soon. With only 250,000 men in his hands, I am afraid that he will not be able to withstand the siege of hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops! Lieutenant General Nevelskoy said.

"Tell Admiral Alexei that I don't have reinforcements to reinforce him for the time being, and he can only rely on himself now. He still had 250,000 men in his hands, and with strong fortifications, he was able to hold out for more than a month. When the time comes, reinforcements drawn from within the country will arrive. Marshal Wittgenstein said. Now that Russia has begun a general mobilization, a large number of young people and prime of life have been drafted into the army. According to the promise made at the London Military Conference, Russia would mobilize at least three million troops. However, according to the current shape, the three million Russian troops may not be able to withstand the attack of the Chinese army. Therefore, the Russian army will definitely mobilize more troops. As long as they can hold out for another month, a large number of reinforcements will arrive. When the time comes, perhaps the situation in the Western Siberian Plain will change.

Lieutenant General Nevelskoy nodded: "Marshal, we want General Alexei to hold out for a month." However, with the powerful attack power of the Chinese Army, General Alexei may be difficult to hold on! ”

"I know, but he still has a lot of troops in his hands. We also have large quantities of war materials stored in Chelyabinsk. He should be able to hold out for a while. If he can hold out for more than a month, then he will become a hero of Russia! Marshal Wittgenstein said.

Russia, the most important thing to lack now is time. The new recruits are undergoing intensive training and then crossing the Ural Mountains from the East European Plain to the Western Siberian Plain, which will take time. Field Marshal Wittgenstein's task was to buy enough time for the large forces in the rear. Otherwise, it will be difficult for Russia to change its decline in this war! (To be continued......)

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