1890 King of Southeast Asia

Cyril walked out of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Huaxia Empire and looked up to the west. The sun at 6 pm suddenly became a little dazzling.

If you use one word to describe Cyril's mentality at this time, it is - numb!

Cyril urged the Russians to establish a joint command. On the surface, it was in the name of unified command, but in fact it was provoking the relationship between the Huaxia Empire and the Russians.

Both China and Russia deployed troops in the Ottoman Empire. Russia was located in the north and fought to the south, and was on the defensive. China was located in the south and fought to the north, and was on the offensive.

Although the Huaxia Empire won consecutive victories on the battlefield of the Ottoman Empire, and the Russians even lost several provinces in succession, in terms of international status, the Huaxia Empire was still inferior to Tsarist Russia.

The establishment of a coalition was a matter of course. If the Huaxia Empire directly refused, its position in the alliance would become slightly delicate.

However, the Huaxia Empire could not give up the command of the army. This issue was mentioned many times in the negotiations with Britain before the Huaxia Empire joined the war.

Cyril planned to force the Chinese, because since joining the war, the Chinese have become more perfunctory in their attitude towards Europe.

First, although there are millions of troops and hundreds of millions of people, they can easily pull out an expeditionary force of one million, but they only maintain one army group in the Ottoman Empire.

Then the amount of supplies provided to Europe has not increased, and delivery is delayed from time to time.

The war has been going on for two years. The factories built by the Chinese Empire at the beginning of the war have basically been put into production. It stands to reason that the supply should have increased significantly at this time, but it has not. I don’t know where the Chinese put the production capacity.

Verdun has drained the blood of the French. Now there are millions of British and French troops in the Verdun area, many of whom are already teenagers in their teens.

The situation of the British is not very good either. The Battle of the Somme, led by the British, caused Britain to lose more than 100,000 Saxons, and there were suddenly more than 100,000 widows in Britain.

Other British people such as Canada, South Africa, and Australia also suffered heavy casualties. As for colonial troops such as Indians, they died countless.

Cyril wanted the Chinese to express their position and use the opportunity of the coalition to force the Chinese to determine the time to land in Europe.

Rejecting the coalition and refusing to send troops, isn't it appropriate?

As a result, the Chinese did not play by the rules at all. After a few words, they actually agreed to form a coalition and gave the position of commander-in-chief to a Russian.

The Russians were also outrageous. They actually agreed to let the Chinese serve as the chief of staff and be responsible for formulating the battle plan.

Talking about the battle plan, Cyril felt that this might not be the kind of cooperation that was not in harmony with the heart. The Chinese might be serious.

"Why? What's the benefit for China?" Cyril looked at the dazzling sunset and couldn't figure it out.

Whether it was in terms of justice or power comparison, the Chinese could fight for the position of commander-in-chief. Although the Russians might not agree, why didn't the Chinese fight for it at all?

And since you have done this, how can I force you?

"No, I will report this news to London. What happened to the Chinese?" Cyril couldn't figure out why the Chinese did this. He could only ask for support.

…………

On January 8, the 2nd Army of the Ottoman Empire made initial contact with the 4th Division of the Chinese Empire. The two sides carried out several low-intensity attacks and defenses outside Birezhik.

After one day of fighting, the Ottomans suffered more than 600 casualties, and the Chinese Empire suffered about 50 casualties.

This is the home advantage of the defenders in the first battle. If they are matched in the right positions, facing the attack of infantry, a casualty rate of ten to one is considered small.

After that, the soldiers at the front of the 14th Division gradually withdrew from the outer positions and assembled at the positions on the west bank of the Euphrates River.

On January 15, the Ottomans happily "attacked" to a place less than ten kilometers away from the Euphrates River.

There is only one direction for the Chinese here. Further back, the 14th Division has only one narrow riverside fortification, which is used to cover the retreat of the army on the west bank.

At this time, Li Yunfei was hiding in the command post under the bridge.

"This afternoon, the 60th Regiment has retreated to Hill 37. From the east to the river, it is a flat alluvial plain." The chief of staff flipped through the battle report.

"How many Ottomans have come?" Li Yunfei put his hands on his waist and stepped on the small puddle.

It is the most difficult to build trenches and other fortifications on the shore. The seepage problem will cause the trenches to collapse. In the wet trenches, the soldiers also face great health problems.

"It is expected that there will be two divisions, but the Ottomans' impact scale is generally based on battalions or regiments, and one batch will not exceed 3,000 people." The chief of staff said and looked at the sand table not far away.

Hill 37 is a general term for a series of small hills on the edge of the plain. There are dozens of hills here, some are more than 34 meters high, some are more than 10 meters high or even several meters high, and they are scattered around.

If you want to defend, these hills can play a big role. When facing a frontal attack, the hills with different heights are the best positions.

If you build reverse slope fortifications on these earth slopes, the Ottoman light artillery can't threaten the soldiers in the fortifications at all. Only the heavy artillery of the Ottoman army or even the group army can pose a certain threat.

However, Li Yunfei didn't plan to stay here because he didn't have enough troops and supplies.

He had received news that the headquarters would use airships to replenish their supplies, but the first batch of supplies was for airport construction.

And even if the supplies were replenished, Hill 37 was still ten kilometers to the east. The Ottomans, with their huge numerical advantage, could always complete the flanking and threaten their flanks.

If there were enough troops, Li Yunfei would fight the Ottomans on the west bank, but if there were not, then it would be safer to evacuate to the east bank.

With the help of the Euphrates River, it would take a lot of time to delay until the 202nd Division arrived, and even more troops would arrive.

"Let the 60th Regiment retreat at noon tomorrow, and the 50th Regiment will meet them 3 kilometers away."

"Has the 50th Regiment been deployed?"

Li Yunfei walked to the entrance of the command department and looked at the busy soldiers in the trenches.

"The 50th Regiment has done a good job of camouflage, 200 machine guns have been deployed, and ammunition is ready, just waiting for the big show to start tomorrow." The chief of staff always felt a little pity.

Despite such a large scene, the Ottomans did not send many troops to attack.

In the previous battles, although the 6th Army of the Chinese Empire took the initiative to retreat, they did not retreat at will.

If the Ottomans' attack was not large, then even if the Ottomans used a large number of artillery, the 6th Army of the Chinese Empire would not retreat, but counterattack on the spot.

Only when the Ottomans were large enough would the 6th Army of the Chinese Empire "retreat in a hurry."

"This battle hurt them, and it hurt them enough, so the next battle will be very convenient." Li Yunfei walked out of the underground command post and stepped on the mud in the trench.

The fortifications on the shore were leaking too much water, and with the snow in the past two days, the trench was filled with a mixture of mud, water, and ice.

These things continuously absorbed heat, causing the temperature in the trench to be even colder than on the ground, and many soldiers caught colds or frostbite.

Li Yunfei did not like to fight in such a place in such weather, as there would be a lot of unnecessary casualties, which would be even more serious than fighting.

Thinking of this, Li Yunfei looked up at the sky. He already knew the telegram received by the theater command. China needed a victory...

…………

"Ismail, this time they stopped on a circle of hills. It will be a bit troublesome to fight. How long do you think it will take us to capture this position? Two hours?" Hoxha, the commander of the 6th Army of the Ottoman Empire, said proudly to the chief of staff Ismail.

"General, these Chinese people have no courage at all. As long as our warriors rush up, they will run away."

"But it is indeed a bit troublesome. In such an area, our artillery will have little effect."

Ismail looked at the circle of hills and frowned, but in the end he didn't say much, just saying that the power of the artillery would be reduced, which indirectly showed that it was very difficult.

"Don't worry, Ismail. Artillery doesn't play a big role in the battle with the Chinese."

"I suspect that the idiots of the 4th and 6th armies didn't fight the Chinese head-on at all, but were frightened by the Chinese artillery fire."

"I said we can't be superstitious about the power of weapons. Bayonets can show the courage of soldiers."

"Look! The 136th Infantry Regiment rushed up. Yes, the Chinese ran away again, and the position responsible for the 137th Infantry Regiment also made a breakthrough."

"Break through 50 kilometers in 1 week. This combat speed is beyond the reach of even the Germans."

Hoxha happily watched the Ottomans bravely rush up, and the Chinese were defeated again before the Ottomans rushed to the position.

Hoxha attributed the failure of the Ottomans in the early stage to the two armies being too obsessed with weapons, and the rapid dispatch of the Chinese troops was attributed to the construction of the Ottoman Empire's railways.

"They've caught up. This time we must catch these hateful and despicable Chinese people. We can't let them run away again!" Hoxha put down the telescope and said to Ismail.

"Send the cavalry regiment?" Ismail tried to say.

"A good suggestion. I want to let these hateful Chinese people know that two legs can never outrun four legs."

"The cavalry of each division will attack together to restore the glory of the imperial cavalry. Allah Hula Keba!"

Hoxha shouted excitedly.

Ismail followed and shouted, and quickly issued an order.

As the order was passed down, about two thousand cavalrymen rode on mighty Arabian horses, waving the traditional scimitars of the Ottoman Empire, and rushed towards Hill 37.

At this time, the Ottoman infantry had rushed to the various positions abandoned by the Chinese 6th Army, and saw the Chinese Empire 6th Army soldiers who had left them behind for hundreds of meters and were retreating in a scattered manner, and they opened fire one after another.

However, the distance was too far, and except for a few accurate shooters, most of the bullets didn't know where they flew.

For ordinary people, at 200 meters, people are only the size of a matchbox. At 400 meters, it is hard to tell which is bigger, the person or the crosshair. At further distance, it is difficult for ordinary soldiers to even aim at a fixed target.

In addition, the Chinese were scattered and the volley guns were not very effective. The two Ottoman infantry regiments that rushed up were in an awkward situation for a while.

"Oh~~"

"Hahaha~~"

"Allah!!!"

At this time, the Ottoman cavalry, shouting unknown slogans and the name of Allah, rushed up. They broke through the barricades and barbed wire from the breakthrough point, crossed the trenches, and advanced from the path between the hills.

When the cavalry gallops at high speed, people will involuntarily secrete adrenaline and dopamine, which keeps people in an excited state.

This can effectively improve the fighting will of the soldiers, and at the same time, being too excited will also make the soldiers unable to help but cheer loudly.

This kind of cheering is positive most of the time, and it can greatly improve the morale of friendly soldiers.

This is the case now. After seeing the cavalry pass through the hills, the two Ottoman infantry regiments shouted the name of Allah and chased the Chinese with strange cries.

The excitement infected them, so that they also followed the cavalry to chase the fleeing Chinese in the name of Allah and the opportunity to make meritorious deeds.

At this time, the Chinese had withdrawn more than 1 kilometer.

Seeing the appearance of the Ottoman cavalry, the Chinese began to abandon various supplies, alternately shooting, and covering each other's retreat.

The shooting interfered with the pursuit speed of the Ottomans, but the interference was not great, and the Ottomans still caught up.

Just when there were only 3400 meters between the two sides and the Ottoman cavalry was at the maximum charge speed, three red flares were launched with sharp cries.

…………

"The Ottomans have used cavalry, we can't wait any longer, send a signal, start shooting!" Guo Liang put down the telescope, sat in the firing position of the 7mm machine gun, and said to the chief of staff.

Dongdongdongdongdongdongdong~~

After speaking, Guo Liang pulled the trigger without waiting for the signal to be sent, and the 7mm heavy machine gun spewed out fire snakes and thick smoke, and with it, deadly bullets flew out of the barrel.

Because it was a continuous shooting mode, the bullets flew more than 3,000 meters away and spread to a very exaggerated range, but it just included the Ottoman cavalry.

At almost the same time, the flares were launched, and the two hundred machine gun groups lying on the entire front line, thousands of people, nervously operated the machine guns.

The squad machine guns firing 8mm rifle bullets fired at large angles, and the anti-fortification and anti-armor heavy machine guns firing 7mm heavy machine gun bullets fired at small angles.

200 machine guns fired bullets crazily at a range of 3 kilometers, no more than 5 kilometers wide and no more than 1 kilometer long.

Depending on the model, the machine guns fired at a rate of 400 to 800 rounds per minute. Such rapid firing formed a barrage that made it impossible for the Ottomans to avoid it.

Swish, swish, swish~~

Shh~~

Ah!

Ah~~

Puff~

The screams of people, the screams of horses, or the simplest sound of bullets entering flesh, suddenly mixed into one.

The Ottoman cavalry, which had just been very glorious, was now hit by enough bullets because of the large target...

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