Since the beginning of winter

In the middle of February 1855, the climate in the Crimean mountains was unusually cold, and it seemed that a heavy snowstorm was brewing for several days in a row.

On the road in the rugged area of the mountains

Ottoman laborers in sheepskin jackets were paving the road, their pickaxes slamming into the ground, and the ground was so hard that it could only dig out a small mud puddle.

Lieutenant Colonel Fan Pengfei, commander of the Fifth Division of the Expeditionary Force, was wearing a cotton hat covering his ears, neatly equipped with cotton clothes and equipment, and a revolver on his belt.

He gasped heavily, and reached out for a moment to rest.

Looking back

On the steep mountain roads passed, only a handful of Ottoman slaves toiled in the cold weather. They cut down the large trees that blocked the advance, and padded the branches that had been cut off with axes in the narrow part of the mountain road, and then covered them with cinders and snow, so that they could pass through the army.

Where should the markers left by the advance team along the way be widened? Where to pad, the mark is quite clear.

The 6,700 Ottoman laborers were obviously not enough, and after going deeper than 20 kilometers into the mountains, it was almost impossible to see them, and they were all stranded in the rear.

Lieutenant Colonel Fan Pengfei frowned;

Now that the military situation is urgent, there is no more time to delay, and the 71-kilometer mountain range west from the port of Alushta will reach the mountainous western side of the Sevastopol fortress, where the defenses are weak.

But that's the straight-line distance on the map, and after entering the mountains, the distance is more than doubled by opening the way along the towering mountains, and the ice and snow trails in the mountains are even more rugged under the blessing of the steep mountains.

Seven mules and horses in the advance team had already fallen into the cliff, and Fan Pengfei himself had almost fallen several times, and as a last resort, he could only take safety rope measures.

That is to say, with a rope, 4~5 soldiers are connected together, and once the danger of falling off the cliff occurs, several other soldiers will crawl on the spot, which plays an extremely important preventive role.

I have to say

This clever idea saved many lives, but unfortunately it could not be used on large animals such as mules and horses, which could not be dragged by more people once they slid off the cliff.

After careful consideration

Lieutenant Colonel Fan Pengfei gave the order with a serious expression;

"Record commands; Fan Pengfei, the advance team of the Fifth Division, reported to the military headquarters that after on-the-spot surveys, the rugged road about 20 kilometers deep into the mountainous area was barely passable after simple repairs. Now it is urgent to transfer all the local coolies to the front of the construction, and the deeper you go into the mountains, the steeper and steeper the mountain road becomes. He believed that he should immediately raise axes, pickaxes, knives and other materials, and assign them to the advance troops, and build dangerous roads along the way to ensure the smooth passage of the follow-up army. Relying only on local coolies may not be enough, and the fighters will be lost. This order was immediately sent back to the military headquarters and there should be no mistake. ”

"Yes, sir."

The communications officer of the advance team immediately saluted solemnly, took the order, and turned to leave.

Fan Pengfei raised his head to look at the gloomy sky, his brows furrowed, the order issued by the coalition forces was unquestionable, and the attack on all fronts was scheduled to be launched on February 18.

Today is February 12th, less than a week before the offensive on all fronts.

The local shepherds take three ~ four days to climb over this mountainous area in the autumn when the climate is fine, because they live here all year round and are familiar with the mountainous terrain.

If you are a little more relaxed, it will take at least five days for the whole army to cross the mountainous area, taking into account the harsh winter weather.

As the advance team of the whole army, the commander of the Fifth Division, Fan Pengfei, personally led the 107th Infantry Regiment as the vanguard of the whole division, and walked in the forefront along the way, so as to inspire the officers and men of the whole division to forge ahead bravely.

Lieutenant Colonel Fan Pengfei knew that if he continued to climb more than 10 kilometers of mountain roads, a large valley would appear, about five or six kilometers long, and there was a rushing stream along the bottom of the valley, which could be used as an advance base for the whole army to be stationed for a short time.

Go further

The steepest of all, Mount Acamund, known locally as the "Pilgrim's Mountain", is a steep mountain at more than 1,770 meters above sea level and the most dangerous natural obstacle along the way.

It is a part of the Crimean Mountains, which is about 50 kilometers wide and more than 150 kilometers long, located at the southern tip of the Crimean island, between Sevastopol and the Alushta region, and is a natural barrier between the two places.

When the British troops crossed the Acamund Mountain, they suddenly suffered heavy rain and flash floods, which caused a large number of personnel and equipment to be swallowed up by the torrents, suffered heavy losses, and had to return in vain.

Now, this precipitous mountain lies in front of us, and the expeditionary force from the Tang Kingdom must step on the high mountain, climb over the dangerous peak, overcome many difficulties to reach the established starting point of the attack, and cooperate with the allies to defeat the recalcitrant Russian defenders.

Come to think of it

Lieutenant Colonel Fan Pengfei showed a resolute look in his eyes, and shouted at the long line behind him; "Brothers, with more strength, climb over the mountain in front of you and go down to the valley, everyone can take a breath, and no difficulty can stop our 5th Division from moving forward, and the 5th Division is mighty."

"The 5th Division is mighty!"

"There is no advance or retreat, and I will be used in the first battle."

Under the encouragement of the division commander, the officers and men of the 107th Regiment shouted in unison with excitement, passed in front of the division commander Fan Pengfei one after another, and stepped onto the sheep's intestine path in the rugged area.

On a steep stretch of road

The officers and men of the 107th Regiment drilled artillery holes, cut down trees, built bridges and crossed streams, and quickly opened up a road over the lofty mountains and mountains, extending deep into the mountains......

Three days later

Port of Alushta

The second group of expeditionary forces that arrived here were densely packed with docks, and due to the urgency of the military situation on the front line and the urgency of time, the soldiers who had just disembarked took a short rest and marched into the depths of the mountains.

From the dock to the town, there was a long steaming iron pot with hundreds of steaming iron pots beside the big iron pots, which were piled up like a hill of dough for the soldiers to use.

The beef and mutton soup is boiling in a large iron pot, and the aroma is mouth-watering, and the soldiers who have just disembarked can eat a mouthful of hot soup and eat the cake with a round belly.

to the front

Each soldier was given a cloth bag containing 14 pieces of bread and a handful of salted meat and fish, which was the soldier's ration for the coming week, and he could only be supplied with food after crossing the mountains.

Some soldiers were very experienced and carried a few extra pieces of bread in their arms, and other soldiers did the same, and they also tried to bring as much food as possible.

The commanders turned a blind eye to this, because Alushta was located in the area of the Primorsky Port, and the supply of supplies was very convenient, and it was not as difficult to supply as the own positions in the Sevastopol theater of operations, which were deep into the enemy's territory, so the soldiers could take it openly.

As long as you can carry it yourself, everything is not a problem.

Major General Duan Debiao, commander of the Corps, stood on the hills outside the city with a serious face, watching the marching army march high with its banner to the depths of the mountains.

From time to time, he looked up at the cloudy sky, and a worried look spread across his cheeks.

What are you really afraid of, what are you coming?

Today is February 15, more than 18,000 forward troops are crossing the Akamond Mountain, and the news from the front is not optimistic.

Until yesterday

In the process of climbing, more than 300 mules and horses and more than 140 soldiers have fallen into the deep cliff, which makes the march of the forward troops more and more difficult, and seriously hinders the speed of the whole army's march.

Seeing that the ghost weather had been gloomy for many days, according to the locals, the mountains were likely to usher in a rare heavy snowstorm, which was no less than a blow to the expeditionary force.

Major General Duan Debiao could only secretly pray in his heart that this snowstorm would come later!

Even if it was two or three days late, it would be really thankful that most of the forces of the expeditionary force could successfully cross Mount Acamund.

The 5th Division of the Forward Army, which is at the forefront, has been deep into the mountains for three days, and today it should mostly cross the Akamond Mountains and enter the western mountainous areas where the Russian army is weakly defended.

It's tomorrow evening

More than 18,000 men in the forward, including the second, fifth and sixth divisions, were supposed to break through Mount Acamund and get through the most difficult moments.

The later this blizzard came, the more favorable it would be for the expeditionary force to fight.

"Report to the Commander, three of the most experienced old men in town have been brought, according to what they have said; This snowstorm should fall in these two days, and the exact timing depends on the wind along the coast. ”

An officer came to the front with three local old men with white beards, raised their hands and saluted.

His report made Major General Duan Debiao's heart sink, and he looked at Major General James Kahn beside him with a solemn face, both of them had ugly faces.

If the locals are right, then the expeditionary force is in big trouble.

The Russian army in the Sevastopol fortress was not two or three big hairy and small hairy, but gathered an army of more than 130,000 people, and according to the steep mountain terrain, the fortress fortress and city walls confronted the coalition army.

The battle that was originally planned to last six weeks has now dragged on for nine months without distinguishing between victory and defeat, with more than 500,000 casualties on both sides.

Now, with the superiority of artillery and Mini rifles, the coalition forces have been pressing the Russian army in a head-on confrontation, at the cost of consuming millions of shells and countless bullets.

But the Russian army is not vegetarian either, and the Russian army launched a mountain-like white-knuckle combat in a dense formation, repelling the attacks of the British and French forces again and again.

As long as there is a piece of black bread, the serf soldiers from the ice and snow of Tsarist Russia are like tough animals, enduring huge casualties and sticking to the trenches, like nails without taking a step back.

With only 18,000 troops in the forward army, it is difficult to tear through the positions of Tsarist Russia.

Once the Russian army reacts, the Russian army fighting on the inner line can quickly concentrate its forces to fight back fiercely, and the 18,000 troops invested in the front line are very likely to be encircled, and finally run out of ammunition and food, and the whole army will be annihilated.

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This damn blizzard came at a bad time, and once the wind and snow raged, it blocked the investment of the follow-up forces of the expeditionary force, and the 18,000 troops invested in the front line became a lone army.

The problem is that the all-front offensive planned by the Allied High Command on the Crimean battlefield on February 18 has already been communicated to all the Allied forces, and hundreds of thousands of troops are waiting for the rest of the day, and it is impossible to delay it due to weather factors.

The expeditionary force is facing a severe test, and it has reached the point of life and death.

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