The Second Pacific Fleet of Tsarist Russia set out from the Baltic Sea and carried out a historic expedition spanning 18,000 nautical miles.

The Japanese army's combat goal was to defeat Tsarist Russia, seize practical benefits in Manchuria, and thus become one of the great powers of the world.

The goal of Tsarist Russia was to defeat the Japanese army, hit Fuso Island, and capture the emperor alive.

From this point of view

This is a crucial battle related to the future destiny of Fuso, and it cannot afford to lose and cannot afford to lose.

As far as Tsarist Russia is concerned, this is only a war on the road of overseas expansion, and winning it will open a smooth road to southward expansion and further realize the "Yellow Russia Strategic Plan".

If you lose, it's nothing, anyway, the war won't reach Tsarist Russia itself.

This sentiment was embodied in the Russo-Japanese War, when the Japanese army sacrificed their lives from top to bottom, constantly launched white-knuckle charges in large and small battles, and won victory after victory at a heavy cost.

"Pig Assault Charge" has become the specialty of the Fuso Army, it is really a white-knuckle charge if you don't agree with each other, and this is the traditional program of Lao Maozi of Tsarist Russia, and the bayonets on both sides are happy to kill with bayonets.

It is no wonder that foreign military observer groups have compared this war to a life-and-death struggle to the flesh, which is really very vivid.

Since October

The Fuso Army hired a large number of merchant ships from the Ocean Empire to deliver war materials and logistical supplies to the Far East day and night, striving to secure three months and half a year's material reserves, so as to meet the bad situation of logistics cut-off.

After the Battle of Liaoyang, the Japanese army entered a stage of large-scale repair.

A steady stream of tens of thousands of reservists was replenished into the front-line combat units, and a large number of reinforcements arrived, further swelling the size of the Japanese army from 135,000 to more than 200,000, and it is still growing rapidly.

The Russian army was not idle, the size of the army grew rapidly from 260,000 to nearly 400,000, and the smuggling business of Somali companies took off, hoarding a large amount of military supplies for them.

On the long road to the Far East, hundreds of thousands of Russian serfs were in constant demand, which put great pressure on the Japanese South Manchurian General Headquarters, who urgently needed to break the current stalemate.

There are two countermeasures that the Japanese army can choose from;

First, the siege of Arthur Fortress has been more than 3 months, and the Japanese Third Army is involved here and cannot move, so it must take the initiative to attack, take the Arthur Fortress in one fell swoop, and after solving the trouble of the henchmen of the Tsarist Pacific Fleet, liberate the strength of the 3rd Army, so that it can join the 1st, 2nd, and 4th armies.

Gather forces in order to inflict heavy losses on the Tsarist Russian army and break the current stalemate.

For each day of delay, the Fuso army lost one point.

Second, before a large number of Russian reinforcements arrived, the Japanese army took the initiative to launch the Battle of Mukden, striving to inflict a major blow on the Russian army.

At present, the biggest unfavorable factor is that the Japanese Third Army has been dragged on the periphery of the Arthur Fortress, and the existing strength is seriously insufficient.

The Battle of Liaoyang had just ended two weeks ago, and the Russian army's large-scale counterattacks followed, and the Russo-Japanese war broke out again, and the two sides fought again in the Taizihe area between Mukden and Liaoyang.

Tsarist Russia's initiative to attack originated from the strict supervision of Tsar Nicholas II, because of the tyranny of the ruling class and the constant news of defeat from the front, there were constant riots of all sizes in Tsarist Russia, and there was a suspicion that the coffin board could not be suppressed.

At this time, a hearty victory is urgently needed to vent domestic emotions and stabilize the situation.

Tsarist Russia's initiative to attack, in the middle of Marshal Oyama Yan's arms, immediately adjusted the deployment of the Japanese army, relying on the existing positions to delay the Russian army, inflicting a large number of casualties on the enemy.

In the Hunhe and Taizihe areas, the total strength of the Tsarist Russian army reached more than 210,000 troops, divided into two group armies on the left and right, and implemented the strategy of "attacking with two fists".

The three armies on the left flank, under the command of Lieutenant General Stackerburg, carried out the main attack in the direction of Benxi Lake, trying to break through the Japanese positions and achieve a beautiful counterattack victory.

The two corps on the right flank, under the command of Lieutenant General Bilderlinger, advanced slowly in the direction of the Sand River, with the task of attracting the enemy in the direction of the main attack.

In addition, the Russian army retains 3 armies as reserves, and the strong strength is so capricious that it can put more than 70,000 people in the rear.

However, this arrangement greatly diluted the offensive force, but reduced its own strength advantage, and could not achieve the offensive effect of Mount Tai's overwhelming top, which proved to be a big defeat.

During the Battle of Sand River

The total number of troops available to the Japanese army was only 120,000, and Marshal Oyama Rock decided to take advantage of the plan, first using the mountainous terrain that was unfavorable to the Russian army, to consume and exhaust the Russian army in defensive warfare, and then invest new forces to turn to the offensive, storm the center and right flank of the Russian army, and annihilate the main force of the Russian army in the northeast in one fell swoop.

October 8, 1904

The Eastern Army of Tsarist Russia, composed of 73 infantry battalions and 34 cavalry companies, stormed the right flank of the Japanese army, and a major battle broke out between the two sides.

The next day, the troops of the Western Army of Tsarist Russia, consisting of 45 infantry battalions and 18 cavalry companies, launched an attack on the right flank of the Japanese army in the Benxi Lake-belt.

The Japanese forces deployed on this side had only 8 battalions of the Guards Reserve Infantry Brigade under the command of Major General Michiharu Umezawa, which was very weak.

However, the resistance of the Japanese army was extremely tenacious, and the troops of Major General Michiji Umezawa fell into a bitter battle, and with a small number of troops, they pinned down the large army of Tsarist Russia, almost ran out of ammunition and food, and suffered all the casualties, and was known as the "glorious Umezawa Brigade" after the war.

Due to the outstanding performance of the Japanese officers and men, after withstanding the fierce attack momentum of the Russian army's Eastern Army, the Japanese army concentrated the main force of the whole army on October 10 and launched a fierce counterattack against the Russian army in the northeast, defeating the Eastern Army in one fell swoop.

Two days later

Under the ferocious counterattack of the Japanese army, the Russian Eastern Army suffered heavy casualties and had to implement a strategic retreat.

The Japanese immediately launched a pursuit, which led to intensive encounters between the two sides, and white-knuckle combat became the main mode of battle, with dozens of white-knuckle battles breaking out in a day.

Wanbao Mountain (which is located in the Shahebao area)

This is the left flank defense line of the Russian army, a strategic commanding heights of great significance, the Takamura Brigade under the command of General Obaogong of the Japanese Second Army captured the high ground in one fell swoop through the ferocious "pig rush charge", shaking the entire defense line of the Russian army, and forming a serious threat to the rear headquarters of the Russian army.

In light of this

The commander-in-chief of the Russian army, General Kuropatkin, abandoned the original offensive plan and ordered the 1st Army to recapture the heights at all costs, and a bloody battle began here......

Standing on a hill about seven miles away from Wanbao Mountain, Captain Li Jianyang held the telescope and looked at it for a moment, then put down the telescope and shook his head speechlessly, walking towards several military observers of the Ocean Empire not far away.

Two months ago

Colonel Li Zhong and Colonel Wu Baoli have completed the mission of the Military Observer Group and have been transferred back to China, and even Lieutenant General Duan Qirui, the head of the Military Observation Mission of the Ocean Empire, has been relieved of his appointment and returned to Australia.

Now they are replaced by another group of officers, who have not been here for a long time, and they have a hot fight with Captain Li Jianyang, and the relationship is quite good.

In the middle of a wood-shaded jungle

The orderly set up two small tables and a small portable canvas bench, which were all simple but practical tools for the officers to rest when they were tired.

on the table

After soaking a large glass of hot milk with milk powder and two plates of cut bread, Captain Li Jianyang walked over and picked up the bread and took a bite, took the milk handed over by Major Zhou Lizhi, and said "thank you".

"Did you get into a fight?"

"Hey, I guess it's coming soon."

"Do you think you can take it?"

"It's not easy, the Japanese defense is very resolute, and its ability to withstand casualties is far better than that of the Russian army, unless the troops are exhausted, it is not easy for the Russian army to attack."

"I think Lao Maozi has prepared a lot of troops, there must be tens of thousands of people, fight a hill defended by more than 2,000 people, and there are no reinforced concrete fortifications, the certainty should be quite large."

"The little devil is not easy to deal with, have you heard about the Umezawa brigade?? With a few thousand men resisting the ferocious attack of tens of thousands of people, they fought until almost the entire army was wiped out and did not abandon their positions. This is much stronger than the Russian army. ”

"Dog's day, it's not a good thing." Major Zhou Lizhi snorted angrily, and then poured a large mouthful of hot milk to suppress the shock.

For example, the soldiers of the Ocean Empire did not have a good impression of the two countries, Japan and Russia, and all of them had a hostile attitude.

Captain Li Jianyang was familiar with them, and the Anglo-Japanese alliance had nothing to do with him, so he didn't care, found a small bench and sat down, grabbed a handful of toffee from his pocket and threw it on the table, and then enjoyed the milk bread with taste.

Basking in the warm sunshine of early winter, several military observers of the Ocean Empire were discussing and expressing their views on the current war.

"If you want me to say...... Lao Maozi's will to fight is still a little worse, and he retreats after losing some troops, and there are 70,000 or 80,000 reserve troops behind him, and he doesn't know what these Tsarist generals are thinking? It's just stupid to get home. ”

"One general is incompetent, exhausting the three armies!"

"That's right, the Tsarist soldiers are still very brave, but these noble generals are all cowards and soft eggs, if you want me to say that they can all be shot, so you don't have to stay and harm the soldiers."

"Alas...... If you want me to say that it is a waste of time here, what the Japanese and Russian armies are best at is white-knuckle charge, face to face with hard bars, and fight all day long like a sea of corpses and blood, it is extremely difficult to see a new tactic that makes people shine, and it is of little significance to learn from it. ”

"This kind of fighting style is the current mainstream, especially in the European theater of maneuver, there is little room for maneuver, many long-range attacks, roundabout battles can not be played, the competition is the will to fight and discipline, as well as the officers and soldiers from top to bottom unanimously strong desire to win, in this respect the Fusang army is remarkable."

"There is truth to this, but when I see the corpses of soldiers covering the entire hill and filling the trenches, it is difficult to raise a good impression of this cold and blunt tactic......

Several people were chatting hotly, and suddenly a roaring cannon sound sounded not far away, and the cannonballs flew up to the top of Wanbao Mountain with a whistling roar, and then exploded a lot of smoke and dust, and the fire splashed back.

Fierce battles began again......

The military observers looked at each other, sighed, and all stood up, walked to a sparsely wooded area, raised their binoculars, and began to do their duty.