Hundreds of shells from naval guns were enough to sink several heavily armored battleships, not to mention the single island army.

The Tsarist Empire did not lose in naval battles, which also caused the next cascade of butterfly effects.

At least the siege of Arthur in history did not happen, and the vanguard sent by the island nation to capture Arthur suffered heavy losses in the encounter with the Fourth Infantry Division, and the casualties were more than half.

If it weren't for the bushido spirit of the island nation, I'm afraid that the army with half of the casualties would have already collapsed, and it would be impossible to concentrate on Okubogong's orders.

It's just that General Obaogong's current mood is not so good.

In this encounter, the 40,000-strong army of four divisions of the Second Army lost more than 13,000 dead and more than 21,000 were seriously wounded.

The number of people who were slightly wounded and able to fight was only more than 22,000, which was not even half of the total number of the Second Army.

In this war, when the 2nd Army was at its best, it was almost a few tens of meters away from the positions of the 4th Infantry Division.

But first it was hit by a large amount of artillery fire, and then it was the naval artillery fire of the Pacific Fleet at sea, so that the artillery units of the Second Army could hardly form any counterattack.

What was even more tragic was that a naval artillery shell hit one of the largest artillery positions of the Second Army, and this shell not only caused the Second Army to lose more than 10 artillery pieces, but also caused the explosion of shells, which caused the entire artillery position to ashes.

After this war, only a little more than 50 of the more than 200 artillery pieces of the Second Army remained, and they were all small-caliber and easy-to-transfer artillery.

To tear apart the fortress of Port Arthur with such artillery is like a pipe dream.

But no matter what, the battle report must be reported. The rear command of the island nation must also be aware of the latest results of the battle, so that it can formulate updated plans based on these results.

Although the defeat in the war had to be admitted, General Obaogong, at the suggestion of his subordinates, changed his erroneous command to an enemy ambush, claiming that the enemy had at least 50,000 troops north of Arthur and more than 500 artillery pieces.

It was precisely because of the suppression of more than twice the artillery, coupled with the support of the enemy's navy, that this "defeat" of Admiral Obaogong was caused.

In his report to the rear command, General Okubaogong also mentioned that although their own troops suffered heavy losses, they also inflicted tens of thousands of casualties on the enemy.

General Obaogong confidently said that as long as he gave him another 20,000 troops, he would definitely be able to conquer the enemy's position and successfully reach the fortress of Arthur.

Although General Obaogong didn't know if the rear command believed his report, at least his position was not dismissed, and he was also replenished with a certain amount of troops.

A week after this encounter, the island nation divided all the landing forces into the Manchurian Army, and established the Manchurian Army General Headquarters, with Marshal Oyama Iwa as commander-in-chief.

After integrating all the landing forces, the island nation once again sent an army of 30,000 troops, and the first and second armies that had already been logged before, forming a total of more than 60,000 Manchurian troops.

The 30,000 new troops were all armed with German Gew 98 rifles, and most of the machine guns and artillery were produced in Australia.

In order to prevent the Pacific Fleet from providing artillery support to the Russian Army again, the Navy of the island nation was also dispatched during the operation of the island army.

Of course, the purpose of the island navy is not to fight another naval battle, but to contain the Pacific Fleet, so that they have no time to take care of anything else.

In early June, the Manchurian Second and Third Armies again arrived north of Arthur and again met with the Fourth Infantry Division.

This time the 4th Infantry Division had been strengthened, and the commander of the Russian army on the Liaodong Peninsula, Stepel, once again sent a division of 18,000 men to defend the northern part of Arthur.

It's just that this division does not have as advanced weapons and equipment as the Fourth Infantry Division, and most of their weapons and equipment are produced in Russia.

Although the ratio of the two armies was 36,000 to 60,000 on the surface, in reality, half of the Russian army was deployed as a reserve force 10 kilometers behind the position.

This also means that the Russian army on the frontal position has only one division, less than about 20,000 men.

On the premise of ignoring the powerful firepower advantage of the CA-1 machine gun, the Russian army on the battlefield was at an absolute disadvantage.

Moreover, the CA-1 cannon can only cause damage to relatively dense troops, and once the enemy is loosely distributed, the CA-1 cannon is more of a deterrent.

And the artillery range of the 2nd and 3rd armies was much farther than that of the CA-1 machine guns.

In the case of preparing in advance, the artillery of the island country can easily suppress the artillery of the Russian army, and the war is no longer like the last time, when the army of the island country was ruthlessly crushed.

The advantage of firepower made General Falk instantly startled, and he hurriedly contacted the army in the rear to come to support.

But the reserve troops were stationed ten kilometers away, and it would take at least two hours to get there.

Will the Russian army be able to hold out for two hours? Especially when both firepower and numbers are at a disadvantage.

The practical answer is no. Because of the Combined Fleet's containment of the Pacific Fleet, the Russian army could not receive any fire support.

This also made some Russian soldiers who were still hopeful instantly despair, and in the face of the enemy's menacing offensive, the Russian soldiers once again felt the panic they had not felt for a long time.

By the time the reserve troops from ten kilometers had managed to arrive, the 4th Infantry Division had already lost most of its weight and was retreating towards the rear.

The current position has been lost, and naturally it is impossible to counterattack back. The Russian army could only evacuate the northern part of Arthur with a disappointed face and evacuated in the direction of the Arthur fortress.

Marshal Oyama Iwa was very satisfied with this result. Although the Manchurian army also lost more than 6,000 people, there were thousands more lightly and seriously wounded.

But now the forward positions in the northern part of Arthur have been uprooted by the island nation, and they can finally see the strong fortress of Arthur.

At this time, within the fortress of Arthur, the Russian side was divided into two factions on how to solve the offensive of the island nation.

Led by the commander of the Russian army on the Liaodong Peninsula, Stepel, it was hoped that the Fort Arthur would be the final defensive position.

It only takes a concentration of about 50,000 troops to keep the Fort Arthur for more than two years.

This is Stessel's self-confidence, and it is also the most conservative approach at the moment. Judging by the fortified fortress of Arthur, holding out for two years is not a problem.

As long as the Pacific Fleet does not lose its advantage, Fort Arthur will be able to receive continuous material support from the port of Arthur, and it will not be difficult to hold on for a longer time.

So the question arises, will the Pacific Fleet be able to maintain superiority all the time?

At least Kondrachenko, commander of the Lushun Ground Forces, does not think so. It's not that he doesn't believe in the Pacific Fleet and Vice Admiral Makarov, it's just that Kondrachenko feels that instead of putting the fate of Arthur in the hands of the Navy, it is better for the Army to hold on and control it himself.

Kondrachenko insisted on taking advantage of the favorable terrain on the outskirts of Lushun to set up a strong defensive line outside Lushun.

This not only ensures that Fort Arthur and the port will not fall into the hands of the islanders, but also does not have to make a desperate bet like holding Fort Arthur.

If the fortress of Arthur is held, the purpose of the Russian army is really only to hold on. But if the goal is to hold the outer line, the Russian army will still have a chance to counterattack, and it will also ensure that no logistical supply lines will be cut off.

Although on the surface, the commander of the Russian army on the Liaodong Peninsula, Stessel, has a greater position and power, but in fact, it is still Kondrachenko, commander of the Lushun ground forces, who is responsible for commanding Lushun.

Under the command of Kondrachenko, the Russian army formed a relatively strong defensive line about twenty or thirty kilometers outside the Arthur fortress, taking advantage of the terrain.

The retreating two northern divisions, as well as the original garrison division of the Lushun Fortress, totaled 54,000 people, and more than 40,000 people were deployed on the defensive line on the periphery of Lushun, forming a relatively strong defensive line and the last line of defense of the Lushun Fortress.

After this line of defense, except for the Lushun Fortress itself, there is basically no defense line to block the encirclement of the Lushun Fortress by the island army.

The Russians also seem to understand this, aware of the importance of the fortress of Arthur and the port of Arthur for the situation in the Far East.

In addition, there is indeed no way to retreat, and there is already a crucial Lushun fortress behind him. The Russians burst out of faith and succeeded in holding back the island army's line thirty kilometers north of Arthur.

The offensive of the island nation was also temporarily stopped, and apart from the offensive and defensive of this line of defense, the Far East seemed to have fallen into a brief period of tranquility.

2,600 words Chapter 2, ask for support!

(End of chapter)