Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 816 War Process

  After the military observation group reported, Li Jianyang was assigned the task of observing the offensive and defensive campaign in Lushun. His wife and family were placed in the city of Dalian, enjoying the peace of war.

  In normal times, officers from various countries often hold some cocktail parties, but I don’t feel lonely.

  Whenever the Japanese army has a major offensive action, it will notify the observers of various countries in advance and gather to go to the front line. At this point, the Japanese army has done a very proper job.

On June 26, 1904, the Japanese army resumed military operations on the Liaodong Peninsula. During the period, they fought more than 10 battles. They encountered strong resistance from the Russian army. After occupying the commanding heights such as Hengshan, they turned to defense and waited. reinforce.

  One month later, the Japanese 3rd Army resumed its offensive against Lushun.

  At this time, the 44th and 7th Divisions of the Russian Army, which defended each pass on the periphery of Lushun, had 40,000 troops, 646 artillery pieces, 62 machine guns, and could be supported by the artillery of the civil warships in Lushun Port. The strength was not weak.

  General Stessel, who is in charge of the defense of Lushun, since the fall of Golden State, he advocated giving up all important areas outside Lushun, retreating into the fortress, and waiting for reinforcements.

  Now that the Japanese army is besieging him, General Stiesel has been unable to retreat. He can only defend the fortress and coexist and die with Lushun.

  If you really lose this strategic location, Tsar Nicholas II will never spare him, and even the family will be affected by it, and there is only one way to resist desperately.

  The Japanese troops encircling Lushun amounted to 60,000, with 400 artillery pieces and 72 machine guns. At the same time, the Japanese side blocked the port with a combined fleet in order to capture Lushun’s fortified positions in one fell swoop.

  From the perspective of military strength comparison, the Japanese army has a one-and-a-half-fold advantage, but in heavy weapons and equipment such as artillery and machine guns, it is basically equal to the defending army, and the strength advantage is not obvious.

  The longer the delay, the more disadvantaged it is for the Japanese army.

  Faced with the hard bones of the Lushun fortress that the Russian army has been operating for a long time, the Japanese army can only face the difficulties due to the situation.

   On August 7, 1904, the Japanese army launched a major offensive.

  The primary goal is to capture the commanding heights-Dagu Mountain and Xiaogu Mountain on the periphery of the Lushun Fortress.

  The Japanese army had 12 battalions and 3 battalions of the Russian army. The two sides fought fiercely for these two tactical points for 4 days. In the end, most of the Russian army was killed and the high ground fell into the hands of the Japanese army.

  Because of the disadvantaged position of the attack, the fortresses on Dagu Mountain are densely packed, and the offensive is very difficult. The Japanese army also paid a heavy price of more than 3,000 casualties for this.

  On August 10, 1904, the Russian fleet was ordered by General Alekseyev to try to break through the blockade and escape to Vladivostok.

  However, due to Witthoff’s inadequate preparation and improper command, the fleet encountered the Fuso Joint Fleet head-on after leaving the port, and the Japanese-Russian Yellow Sea battle broke out.

  In the artillery battle, General Withoft died on the spot, and the remaining ships were forced to retreat to the base. Only a small number of ships fled to neutral ports and were disarmed.

  On August 12, 1904, the Russian Vladivostok Squadron was destroyed by the Second Fleet led by the Japanese General Hikonojo Uemura during the Battle of Ulsan.

  After gradually relieved of the worries at sea, on August 19, 1904, the Japanese army launched a strong attack on the fortress of Lushun, day and night assaults, shells flew on the battlefield, the corpse was like a sea of ​​blood, and the battle was extremely tragic.

The two sides fought fiercely until August 24. Although the Japanese army seized some forward fortifications, the casualties were about 20,000 (accounting for 1/3 of the total force). The violent offensive momentum suffered a severe setback, and the morale of the officers and soldiers was low, from top to bottom. A feeling of despair.

  The fortress of the Lushun fortress, which the Russian army has been operating for a long time, is strong. Japanese soldiers are almost facing the enemy's machine gun fire and artillery. On the outer positions of the Lushun fortress, the corpses of the fallen Japanese soldiers are densely covered in the mountains and the entire hill is red.

  Some infantry brigade hit all the soldiers, and only a few dozen wounded and sick survived more than 800 people. The others died on the way to the charge, and the world was full of blood.

  In view of this, the Japanese army had to abandon its plan to quickly capture Lushun and resort to a long-term siege.

  While the Japanese forces stormed Lushun, they were preparing for the Battle of Liaoyang.

  The Nanman Headquarters originally planned to conquer Lushun, and then drew out the 3rd Army for Liaoyang. But the plan could not keep up with the changes. The 3rd Army's offensive was severely frustrated, and it was unable to get out of the situation in Lushun, and postponing the battle of Liaoyang was disadvantageous for the whole battle.

  Over time, Russian reinforcements will arrive from the hinterland.

  For this reason, the Fusang Guonanman Headquarters must seize the opportunity to use the existing forces of the 1st, 2nd, and 4th armies to total 135,000 armies and concentrate 474 artillery to annihilate the main force of the Russian army assembled in the Liaoyang area.

  The main force of the Russian army assembled in the Liaoyang area totaled 160,000. The strength of the Russian army is dominant, but it is in a state of blind defense. The front-line generals do not seek merit, but seek nothing. Facing the Japanese army, there was no plan to attack decisively at all.

  More than half a year of brutal war, the Tsarist army saw the bravery of the Japanese army in spite of sacrifice, the original arrogance turned into psychological fear, and the scale of victory quietly changed.

  Dalian City

  In a private house

  Li Jianyang has lived in this small city for more than three months. During this period, he went back and forth to the front line of Lushun many times and witnessed the cruelty of the war with his own eyes.

  "Come on, Brother Zhong, Brother Baoli, today I would like to invite you to taste the delicacies of the world, which can't be eaten in other places!" Li Jianyang warmly greeted the two brothers to be seated.

  The copper hot pot on the dinner table exudes a tempting aroma. The meat is tumbling in the broth, and the side is full of meat and vegetarian dishes. It makes people mouth-watering.

  Into September

  The strong cold air from northern Siberia ruled the northeast land. The temperature dropped more than ten degrees overnight, and clear white fog could be seen when breathing. It was cold season.

   Colonel Li Zhong and Colonel Wu Baoli opened the cotton curtains one after another and stepped into the main room. They were immediately surrounded by warmth. Two pots of charcoal were burning in the main room to keep the room at a suitable temperature.

"Oh, what delicious I made today, I can smell it." Colonel Wu Baoli took off his woolen coat and handed it to the maid beside him. He couldn't wait to step forward to check it out; "Dog meat pot... right? ?"

   "Brother Poly has eyes like torches, and I can't hide anything from you." Captain Li Jianyang replied with a smile.

   Colonel Li Zhong also took off his woolen coat, walked over to take a look at Colonel Wu Baoli, and said jokingly; “Where is his eye like a torch, it’s just a cat nose tip.”

   "Brother Zhong, you still understand me, hahahaha..."

  In this cold season

   Sitting around the table and enjoying the delicious dog meat hot pot is undoubtedly a great joy in life. This thing is not available in Australia, because the sheepdog is the most beloved partner of the rancher and it is impossible to kill and eat meat.

  Not in Somalia, where African hyenas and wild dogs are scavengers, and their meat is not edible. Not only is there a lot of germs, but it also has an unpleasant smell.

  Three rounds of wine and five flavors of food.

  In the banquet, a few people were eating steamingly, and their faces were red. Putting down the topic of chopsticks, they couldn't help but talk about the current war.

   Colonel Wu Baoli asked; "Brother Jianyang, the Battle of Liaoyang is about to begin, are you going to take a look?"

"I don't want to go. During this period of time, there are too many dead people watching every day. They are too tired. For more than half a year, the Japanese and Russian armies have killed and injured more than 100,000 people. At the end of August, Lushun will be in the offensive and defensive battle. The entire army was wiped out by this alliance, and none of them survived. A strong smell of blood can be smelled a few kilometers away. It's really cruel."

  Speaking of which

Li Jianyang sighed deeply and said in a vicissitudes of life that is incompatible with his age; "I would rather be a peace dog than a person in troubled times. In the small city of Dalian, half of the city is full of wounded soldiers. In order to serve the Japanese army, I feel that this city has no other colors except for killing. I am really bored."

What he said resonated with Colonel Li Zhong. He took up the glass in front of him and drank it and said; "There is really nothing to look at. The housekeeping skills of the Tsarist Russian army are hand-to-hand charges, and the Japanese army is also good at pig charging. The war is fought like wild boars colliding with each other, and there is not much reference. Compared with the Boer War that has just ended, it is more like the outdated tactics 100 years ago."

"Yeah, in this war, we can't see the deep interspersed and circuitous, we can't see the flexible and flexible tactics. The Tsarist army's defense is deadly defense. There is no eye-catching defensive counterattack. Fusang army's attack is deadly attack. If you can’t attack, you will attack from the side. If you cannot attack, you will turn to the front and attack again. What you hear is the sound of fists."

"Brother Poly said exactly. Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but think of the famous Qing court's Zeng Guofan's tactics of "strengthening the stronghold and fighting the war". Maybe our position is not high enough. This kind of large-scale battle is more secure step by step. It is debatable that... the use of artillery by both Japan and Russia is too low. This is also the crux of the situation that both sides cannot open."

  Although Captain Li Jianyang is not very old, he has very rich combat experience. He is also a professional officer who graduated from the Artillery Department of Royal Sandhurst Military University in the United Kingdom. He looks at the problem quite in-depth.

  Several of his military observation reports were highly appraised by Shangfeng.

  In view of the difficulty of the Japanese army in conquering the fortress of Lushun, the power of ordinary artillery is difficult to pry open the heavy defensive fortress. A large-caliber mortar must be used to smash the thick tortoise shell of the fortress of Lushun.

  The Japanese commander unilaterally emphasized the mental effect of violently killing the enemy, blindly attacking, and suffered heavy casualties in the rain of heavy machine guns and artillery formed by the Russian defenders. It must be said that it was a big failure.

  From a military perspective, such sacrifices are completely meaningless.

Colonel Wu Baoli thought for a while, knocked on the table lightly, and after aroused the idea of ​​two people, he said; "In my opinion, it is impossible for the Japanese generals to fail to imagine that large-caliber mortars would be used in such a solid fortification target as the capture of Lushun Fortress. This is military common sense.

There are two reasons why    was not adopted;

  First, the generals in front of the Japanese army underestimated the resistance of the Russian army, underestimated the difficulty of the battle, and lacked preparations before the war, and there was no large-caliber mortar that could be used together.

  Second, Fusang has a custom of "not bothering people", and it is especially about saving face. He would rather drive soldiers to fill in the invisible flesh and blood mill of Lushun Fortress than ask for help.

  Typical "Death to face and live to suffer."

  As a result, the fortified battle became a war of attrition. The veterans of the division were tired and had to switch to long-term siege tactics. It was really a last resort. "

"It makes sense to think about it. I agree with your opinion." Colonel Li Zhong nodded and said very emotionally; "These Japanese soldiers are well-trained and very tenacious in combat. Unfortunately, they were consumed as cannon fodder. not worth it."

   "So loyal brother, who do you think will win the Battle of Liaoyang?"

"I prefer the Japanese army. The Tsarist Russian army has the advantage of firepower. However, General Kuropatkin put on a defensive posture and gave up the initiative of the campaign. The 75-kilometer defense line has the opportunity to gather the Japanese army locally. The heavy troops have formed an advantage, a breakthrough will lead to a defeat across the board."

  The Tsarist Russian army in Liaoyang area assembled heavily and formed three defense positions.

  The first forward position is 75 kilometers long and is located about 30 kilometers south and southeast of Liaoyang. It is in a semi-circular shape and is safe behind the wings.

  22 kilometers behind the forward position, a second position was set up, which is only 8 kilometers away from Liaoyang City. It is composed of trenches, bunkers and barbed wire, which seems to be tightly guarded.

  The third position was on the outskirts of Liaoyang. The Tsarist army divided the troops to guard the above three positions, defeated the idea of ​​not appearing, and waited passively for defense.

  The original superior forces and firepower were scattered on the three positions, and it became a situation where they had to defend everywhere and were not strong everywhere, leaving the Japanese army to take advantage of the opportunity.

  This situation

   Colonel Wu Baoli felt that the Russian army should be restrained by a frontal feint, and the main force should implement large-depth roundabout maneuvers to break through from the weak defenses in the north of Liaoyang city. This is the best policy.

  At that time, the main forces of the Tsarist Russian army will be scattered in the field. The army and the feint troops who have entered the city of Liaoyang will carry out a pincer attack, blooming inside and out, since they can achieve a complete victory.

  Actually

  The Japanese Southern Manchurian Headquarters is still the same set of frontal attack tactics. The main idea is to select the weak points of the Russian defense to carry out a frontal attack, and if the situation is unfavorable, it will attack from the side.

   Therefore, several people did not have a high evaluation of the tactical literacy of the Japanese commanders, and they had a lower evaluation of the commanders of the Tsarist Russian army, directly failing.

  The generals of military observation missions from various countries will not expect to be on the front line for a long time. Major General Fox only stayed in Dalian for more than ten days and then left here by boat for the Shanghai Sea. Now there is a high probability that he will be happy and cheerful in Shiliyangchang.

After staying for more than a month, Lieutenant General Duan Qirui took a boat to the Luzon Islands to inspect the troops. No one knows when he will be back, and no one dares to ask. Battle of Liaoyang.

  The main forces of the military observation missions of various countries are these colonels, lieutenant colonels, and major officers. Colonel Li Zhong and Colonel Wu Baoli can go later, but they must not miss the Liaoyang battle.

  On the contrary, Captain Li Jianyang can be lazy, inspect the Japanese battlefield to rescue injuries, replenish the reserve force, adjust and restore the system, logistical supplement, military medical force, etc., are also the duties of military observers.

  In the sand table deduction, some of these measures are bonus points and some are minus points. Their influence on the final result cannot be ignored, and they are also one of the components of combat effectiveness.

Overall

  Several military observers have low evaluations of the commanders of Japan and Russia, and very high evaluations of the soldiers of Japan and Russia.

  Fusang soldiers can give up their lives and forget their lives as long as they have a rice ball. Tsarist Russian soldiers can fight without ambiguity as long as they have a piece of black bread to hang their lives.

What    lacks is that the Tsarist Russian commander is greedy for life and fear of death, his tactics are dull and rigid, his level is horribly low, and he is full of errors.

  (End of this chapter)