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In the encirclement and interception of the Imperial Army, the remaining strength of the Russian army is now less than 200,000 people. These Russian troops are mainly distributed in two places. One was the commander of the Russian Expeditionary Force, Ivan Brown. The main force led by Paskovich has a total of 120,000 people, including the 100,000 troops who were previously withdrawn from the front line, as well as the troops withdrawn from the 8th Infantry Corps of the Russian army, as well as the rout of the broken rear troops. They were surrounded by two cavalry corps and eight infantry corps of the Imperial Army, in Zalari.

The other is the 10th Infantry Corps and the 14th Infantry Corps of the Russian Army, which had crossed the Angara River and wanted to attack the Imperial Army from the flank. During the battle, they could not break through the defenses of the 5th and 8th armies of the Imperial Army, and after the main offensive also failed, they chose to retreat. However, they were pursued by the 5th and 8th armies of the Imperial Army. In Sversk, on the north bank of the Angara River, the remnants of the 10th Infantry Corps and the 14th Infantry Corps of the Russian army were preparing to cross the river and return to the south of the Angara. However, after the pontoon bridge was built, it was blocked by two cavalry corps of the Imperial Cavalry. At the same time, the 5th and 8th armies of the Imperial Army also arrived, which immediately put the Russian army in a dilemma, and many Russian troops were attacked when crossing the river, suffering heavy casualties. In this part of the Russian army, there are more than 50,000 people left.

The other two infantry corps of the Imperial Army acted as reserves, and if the Russians were ready to break out, they would be responsible for attacking the Russians to ensure that they could not escape. The battle has come to this point. The Imperial Army had actually emerged victorious. Of the 600,000 Russian reinforcements, there were only 1780,000 remaining troops. And the losses of the Imperial Army. There are less than 20,000 people. Such a disparity in the ratio of battle losses undoubtedly proves the disparity between the Chinese and Russian armies.

Zalali, the logistics supply center of the Russian army before, but it was attacked by the 1st Cavalry Corps and the 2nd Cavalry Corps of the Imperial Army, so the logistics materials were destroyed. Marshal Paskovich for the sake of victory. had to launch a desperate attack, which ended in a crushing failure.

Ivan. Marshal Paskovich's headquarters was located in a small house that had not yet been destroyed. This is one of the few remaining buildings in Zalari that has not been destroyed. At the end of June, Siberia has entered the summer level. Although the summer here is not hot, it is completely different from the long winter. Merely. The Russian army is now under siege. But it's like winter. Surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Imperial Army, they have lost the possibility of escaping, and the last thing that awaits them is to be annihilated by the Imperial Army in one fell swoop.

"Your Excellency, what shall we do now? We are running out of supplies, and we can hold out for three days at most. In three days, even if the Chinese do not attack, we will starve to death. Lieutenant General Lepnin, commander of the 8th Infantry Corps of the Russian Army, asked. No doubt. The current situation is already extremely unfavorable for the Russian army.

"Is there any news of the 10th and 14th armies?" Ivan. Marshal Paskovich asked. The 10th Infantry Corps and the 14th Infantry Corps retreated along the Angara River. I don't know if I can escape from the pursuit of the Chinese.

"Your Excellency, this is not clear. We have been completely surrounded by the Chinese, and our contact with the outside world has been cut off. However, judging from the strength of the Chinese, the 10th and 14th armies may also be very dangerous. Lieutenant General Lepnin said.

"Tonight, prepare to launch a breakout. If the breakout is successful, the troops will retreat westward in small groups! "Ivan. Marshal Paskovich said. Now he has no better way.

"Your Excellency? Retreat into small units? But we don't have enough supplies! If the troops were dispersed again, we would not be able to cross the vast forest sea at all! Lieutenant General Lepnin, commander of the 8th Army of the Russian Army, exclaimed. Siberia is vast, and although the Russian army occupies this area, it is only in name. The area they really developed was nothing more than the Siberian Plain. The Central Siberian Plateau and Eastern Siberia, only the two sides of the highway have been developed to a certain extent, but this is still in a relatively rudimentary stage. The vast forest sea is also a forbidden area for the Russians, if you rush into it, in the absence of food, I don't know how many Russian officers and soldiers will be buried inside, and there must be very few people who can successfully escape back.

"General Lepnin, we have no other way, how much can we escape! This will also let His Majesty the Tsar know that we have failed, so that he can prepare as much as possible. After the Chinese destroy us, they will inevitably attack the west again in a big way. If we are not prepared, it will be difficult for us to resist the attack of the Chinese! "Ivan. Marshal Paskovich said.

Lieutenant General Lepnin nodded, if they did not want to be captured by the Chinese * army, breaking through was already the last resort. Of course, whether they succeed in the end depends on whether God will bless them.

At the same time, the Imperial Army was also intensifying its encirclement of the Russian army. The main force of the Imperial Army surrounded these Russian regiments. The victory of the Imperial Army in this battle was already doomed. Even, the victory came so quickly that it completely exceeded the expectations of the generals of the Imperial Army. Originally, they thought that this war would be a protracted war, and the battle would drag on until the cold winter. Then, wait until after the beginning of spring next year to continue playing. Unexpectedly, the Russian Army was so vulnerable. It was defeated in just a few days. Major General Liu Zhongming believes that even the emperor of the empire probably didn't expect this battle to be so smooth!

"Order all the troops, strengthen the defense, and for the time being, we don't have to take the initiative to attack the Russians, we will trap them directly. The Russians don't have a lot of supplies, and maybe they won't have enough food soon. Major General Liu Zhongming ordered. The more he reached the last minute, the more he had to find a way to ensure victory and minimize his own casualties as much as possible. The encircled Russian army is like a wounded beast, and the counterattack before death will inevitably make the Chinese * army pay heavy losses.

"Yes, General!" The commanders of the various armies were able to understand the meaning of Major General Liu Zhongming. Since the Imperial Army was already doomed to win this time, there was no need to fight any further. If you can achieve the final victory at a small cost, then why not? The life of every Imperial soldier is precious, and there is no need to pay for unnecessary casualties.

I believe that after a few days, the surrounded Russian army, if not starved to death, will be half starved to death. When the time comes, the Imperial Army will be able to win lightly.

On the night of June 28, at two o'clock in the morning, the Russian army surrounded in Zalari launched a surprise attack on the Imperial Army. More than 50,000 Russian troops launched a fierce attack on the defensive line of the 2nd Infantry Corps of the Imperial Army, which was deployed to the west.

This battle was fought very fiercely. Although as soon as the Russian army attacked, it was exposed because it stepped on a mine. Immediately, a large number of flares were lifted into the air, and the figure of the Russian army appeared under the illumination of the flares. However, these Russian troops were not willing to be defeated, and they launched a fierce attack on the defense line of the Imperial Army without fear of death. Even if he is knocked to the ground, he will not hesitate to do it.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! Dada! Dada! "The sound of mortars and heavy machine guns resounded in the night sky. After discovering that the Russian army had broken through, the officers and men of the Imperial Army immediately began to counterattack. Mortars and heavy machine guns have become a sharp weapon to harvest the lives of these Russian troops.

Although the firepower of the Imperial Army was very strong, a large number of Russian troops fell on the way to the offensive. However, under the attack of the Russian army, regardless of casualties, the Russian army still broke into the defense line of the Imperial Army for a time. These Russian soldiers also seem to know that if they do not try to break through the Chinese army's defenses, they will die here. Therefore, these Russian soldiers are very desperate.

Fortunately, the Imperial Army already has an absolute advantage in terms of strength. After discovering that the Russian army was attacking fiercely and that the encirclement was at risk of being breached, Lieutenant General Liu Zhongming immediately sent reinforcements to the front line. Under the fierce attack of the Imperial Army, the Russian troops were driven back out of their positions.

The fierce battle lasted all night, and it did not end until a trace of fish belly white appeared on the horizon. The breakthrough of the Russian army also ended in failure. They knew that once dawn came, they would never have a chance again.

After dawn, the Imperial Army gathered thousands of artillery pieces and carried out a fierce artillery bombardment of the Russian troops in the encirclement. The Russian army was surrounded in a narrow area, and in the face of heavy artillery shelling by the Imperial Army, they paid heavy casualties. This has made the morale of the Russian army completely fall to the freezing point. If it weren't for the bullet pressure of the Russian officers, maybe many Russian soldiers would have surrendered.

The first to surrender were the 10th Infantry Corps and the 14th Infantry Corps of the Russian Army, which were surrounded in Sversk. In a dilemma and a lack of war materials, these Russian troops chose to surrender in order to survive. Lieutenant General Sheremedev, commander of the 10th Infantry Corps of the Russian Army, and Lieutenant General Mikhail, commander of the 14th Infantry Corps, led the remaining nearly 50,000 Russian troops to surrender to the 5th and 8th armies of the Imperial Army.

Soon after the surrender of the 10th Infantry Corps and the 14th Infantry Corps of the Russian Army, the main forces of the Russian army surrounded in Zalari made the same choice.

On June 30, 1847, the commander of the Russian Expeditionary Force, Ivan Brown. Marshal Paskovich committed suicide, and in the end, the commander of the 8th Infantry Corps of the Russian Army, Lieutenant General Lepnin, chose to surrender. The remnants of nearly 100,000 Russian troops all entered the temporary prisoner of war camps of the Imperial Army. (To be continued......)