1905: Beer Hall Speaker

Page 61

"Your Majesty, this action is against the will of Heaven!" his generals warned. "This is not how you fight a war. Where is the leader who commanded the great victory at Gaizhou? He attacked with the fury of fire and defended with the immovability of a mountain."

A leader should be able to break through and defend effectively; otherwise, using so many cannon fodder to exhaust the Russians' ammunition is not very useful.

The generals didn't care about the lives of the Manchus; what they cared about was military achievements and the honor of their troops. Sending Manchu cannon fodder to their deaths every day while their regular army hid behind and watched the spectacle would surely make them a laughingstock to the world.

Zhao Yan had earned a formidable reputation with other troops on the Korean and Liaodong battlefields, so why was he so lukewarm with the Eastern Route Army?

Other units, even those Class B units, have achieved remarkable feats, while the two standing divisions and three Class B divisions of the Eastern Route Army have been sidelined since the outbreak of the war. This is unfair!

"It may harm the harmony of Heaven, but it won't harm the Republic!" Zhao Yan didn't care about the harmony of Heaven, only about the Republic! He understood the thoughts of his generals, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Facing the map, he was also quite helpless. The terrain here was completely different from that of Gaizhou. The Gaizhou area was mainly plains and hills, while the entire Sino-Russian war zone in Suifenhe was full of towering mountains!

The only place in front of us, the Isco Valley, can be used as a breakthrough point. This is a typical frontal assault with no way to avoid it. In such battles, we must first wear down the enemy, and then use limited resources and manpower to break through the enemy's defenses in one fell swoop.

When cannon fodder is needed, instead of using full-strength troops to fill the gaps, are you going to use your own people to fill them?

Attacking enemy trench defenses in the era of firearms and attacking enemy fortified cities in the era of cold weapons are just different methods of combat, but the combat concepts are still the same: the best strategy is to infiltrate and encircle.

However, the Russian defense line is located in a narrow area between two mountain ranges. If you try to cross the mountains to infiltrate and encircle them, it's hard to say whether your logistics will be affected, but the Russian army will definitely laugh their heads off. If too few of these isolated troops cross the mountains, they will be sent to their deaths; if too many come, you will starve to death first.

There were no supply points or roads along the way, and the area was completely unfamiliar to everyone. The Manchus considered this place their ancestral home, but the Russians managed it far better than they had.

If you can't get around it, then you can only fight to the death. When you encounter such a key location that you have to fight to the death, if you don't have the confidence to break through it in one fell swoop, then you can only send cannon fodder to the front to wear down and probe, to keep the enemy's attention on hold, and then you can think of all possible underhanded tactics.

"Pass on my order: intensify the crackdown! Forget about reputation and morality. Only the victors who survive deserve honor and morality; the losers have nothing!"

"Once the last person in the village has bled dry, we can have a Thanksgiving celebration! If everyone is grateful, what more do they want from us?"

Thanks to Zhao Yan's insistence, tens of thousands of Manchus were sent to Suifenhe to fill the gaps. It was very convenient for Manchus from the capital area and beyond the Great Wall to come here, as they could take a train directly to their final destination.

During the lean season, when there aren't enough supplies to transport, and the train cars are just sitting empty anyway, it's better to bring in some cannon fodder to fill the gaps.

Zhao Yan's various maneuvers, constantly trying to lure the Russian army out on its own, have led me to send unarmed "old, weak, women and children" to the front lines to their deaths. Doesn't this show that I'm at my wit's end?

At this opportune moment, if the Russian army takes the initiative to attack, I, Zhao Yan, will surely suffer a crushing defeat!

Zhao Yan even deliberately leaked some intelligence to the Manchurian Defenders, telling them that all of his elite troops had been transferred away, leaving only the old, weak, sick, and disabled at the front.

Then the Manchurian Volunteer Corps leaked the information to the Russians, but the Russians remained unmoved and showed no intention of attacking whatsoever.

Because it was the first time the Russians had ever seen such ruthless people. Even women and children were forced to come up as cannon fodder by heavy machine guns. They were even more ruthless than their own Russian army.

The most crucial point is that Zhao Yan hasn't left. As long as he's still there, the Russian army won't attack for any reason. Who knows if, after taking the initiative to attack, they'll face an unstoppable advance or Zhao Yan's swarms of infiltration and flanking maneuvers across the mountains and plains?

The Russians weren't in a hurry, but Zhao Yan was extremely anxious. Winter was fast approaching, and temperatures in Northeast Asia would begin to drop immediately after October.

With only this many troops and supplies available before winter, if we can't defeat this Russian army, we won't be able to afford the losses after winter.

As time dragged on, by the end of September, the trees covering the mountains and fields began to shed their leaves, and dry autumn winds howled through the mountains.

The autumn harvest was also completely completed. The train cars on the railway were no longer full of people, but instead carried loads of military rations. The civilian laborers who had worked after the autumn harvest were also conscripted to transport ammunition and military equipment.

After the supply of materials to the front line was increased slightly, Zhao Yan felt that the opportunity had arrived. More than 200,000 Manchurians had been captured. The Russian army was now in a state of numbness, just clocking in and out every day, and their vigilance and alertness were constantly decreasing.

On September 27th, Zhao Yan rode his horse to inspect the battlefield, taking great risks to walk around the outer perimeter of the Isco Valley and experience the battlefield environment firsthand.

Compared to the contour lines on a map, seeing the battlefield in person is the best way to find more opportunities, because there are many things that cannot be marked on a map.

Factors such as air humidity, terrain, vegetation, and wind direction are all valuable military elements.

Zhao Yan saw the deciduous vegetation covering the mountains and fields, as well as the dry and flammable shrubs, withered branches and fallen leaves, and an idea suddenly came to mind.

After inquiring about the recent wind direction, Zhao Yan's lips curled into an evil smile.

The Russians were too lazy. They cleared the area around their main positions by logging, but they didn't clear the high ground positions that were set up around the mountains and the terrain. Many of their defensive lines were surrounded by dry, flammable deciduous forests and shrubs.

They've had a good time fighting the cannon fodder in Manchuria lately, and the Russian army didn't even bother with the basics when dealing with those cannon fodder who had absolutely no military skills.

Zhao Yan immediately seized upon this flaw. The autumn air was crisp and dry, flammable materials were everywhere, and the wind direction was just right. It would be a shame not to set fire to the Russian army.

The lingering heat of late summer is still present, so let's hurry up and make the Russian troops even warmer!

On the 29th, all five divisions of the Eastern Route Army, which had been resting and recuperating for four or five months, received orders to launch an attack. The Eastern Route Army, which had been holding back its anger, finally had the opportunity to show its strength!

He either doesn't fight at all, or he goes all out to defeat his opponent in one fell swoop. That's Zhao Yan's style; he never resorts to piecemeal tactics.

On that day, Zhao Yan sent out dozens of small detachments carrying fuel to set fires in various places. These detachments blended in with the Manchus who were being sent to their deaths and did not attract the attention of the Russian army at all.

When the fire started to spread all over the mountain, the Russian army finally realized something was wrong. The wind was fanning the flames, and it was blowing from the side of the Russian army. The entire Iskol Valley was like a giant bellows!

With fire raging, the Russian troops on the mountain fled for their lives, quickly heading down to the valley. But the valley was no better. Although the Russian troops on the main position had cleared the surrounding combustibles, they couldn't completely clear them. Sparks from the raging fire and the high-temperature air turned the main position into an oven. As the temperature rose higher and higher, the main position could catch fire at any moment.

After tens of thousands of troops were mobilized, the first thing the Wehrmacht did was not to attack, but to quickly cut out a firebreak. They dared not cut it before the fire started, for fear that the Russian army would find out, but once the fire started, it was too fierce, and they had to protect themselves first.

Zhao Yan stood on high ground overlooking the raging fire, which even set fire to the wheat fields behind the Russian army's positions. One after another, Russian troops were forced to abandon their positions and move to the second line and further back.

Those bunkers and trenches that originally required mountains of corpses and seas of blood to take down could be easily captured after being scorched by fire.

It's impossible to expect such a large fire to wipe out the entire Russian army, but Zhao Yan is confident that after the fire, while the Russian army is in chaos, they can take advantage of the situation and crush them in one fell swoop.

The fire, started in the morning, burned for more than three hours, and even spread to other areas. This was not an accidental fire caused by a cigarette butt; it was deliberately set by dozens of small teams!

Burning down more than a dozen mountains was a piece of cake. If this crime were committed in the next century, Zhao Yan would be imprisoned for life!

Chapter 112 Fate Plays a Trick

The fire continued into the afternoon, and the Russian troops in the Isk Valley were on the verge of collapse, with multiple fires breaking out within the main Russian defensive lines.

But just then, the wind changed direction, and large amounts of clouds drifted over from the direction of the Pacific Ocean without anyone noticing.

Zhao Yan had planned everything meticulously, but he overlooked the Pacific Ocean. Russia's Primorsky Krai is close to the Pacific Ocean, and it doesn't have an inland climate, but rather a maritime climate!

At 3 p.m., the fire raged, disrupting the airflow in the area. With the interplay of warm and cold air currents, an autumn rain began to fall.

Each autumn rain brings a chill, but it can't compare to the chill in Zhao Yan's heart!

After the raindrops fell, the Russian troops, who were on the verge of collapse and fleeing, immediately regained their composure.

Zhao Yan ordered the entire army to launch an attack and crush the Russian army at all costs. This was the last chance, the last chance to defeat the Russian army before winter arrived!

After months of waiting, the Eastern Route Army was finally able to launch its first attack, and the divisions launched a general offensive against the Russian defenses in the Isk Valley according to plan.

The assault teams were still leading the charge. In the years before tanks, these elite assault teams played the role of tanks.

The assault team was almost entirely equipped with automatic weapons, with light machine guns as their core output, shotguns and submachine guns as secondary outputs, and a dense array of grenades hanging from their bodies.

Both shotguns and submachine guns were the latest products of the Hanyang Arsenal. The pump-action shotgun was based on the feeding principle of the Winchester rifle and could hold up to eight rounds at a time, with a caliber of 19 mm.

In trench warfare and close combat, this thing is as powerful as a trench broom when it fires shotgun shells; one shot can kill or injure a whole group.

The submachine gun was an emergency product designed and manufactured by the Hanyang Arsenal under the instructions of Zhao Yan. The ammunition used was 11.43mm cartridges manufactured from the Colt pistol cartridge production line imported from the United States. The magazine was horizontally mounted and it adopted the blowback principle. A large part of the design was copied and improved from foreign products.

Submachine guns are produced in small quantities and are mainly supplied to the Führer's guard, the SS, and frontline assault teams. These things consume too much power, and the Wehrmacht does not dare to equip them in large quantities at present.

A 30-round magazine is emptied in three or four seconds if you pull the trigger. Who can withstand that?

Currently, these high-end equipment are mainly supplied to a small number of special forces. The assault team attacking the Isco Valley is now heavily equipped with submachine guns.

Before the Russian troops could react, the assault team had already rushed up. Without the obstruction of the high ground defenses on both sides, the vanguard's attack went exceptionally smoothly.

The Russian army thought these were just more Manchurian cannon fodder coming to their deaths, so they immediately organized a defense. But they didn't expect that this time, it wasn't cannon fodder coming to their deaths, but a deadly assault team from the Russian National Defense Forces.

The Russian front-line positions were quickly breached, and their artillery was suppressed by the Wehrmacht artillery before they could even fire.

However, more Russian troops were soon deployed to the battlefield to begin the counterattack. Although the desperate offensive of the Wehrmacht was repeatedly breached, it did manage to slow down the offensive.

Zhao Yan relentlessly organized various offensives, his micro-management skills once again on full display, giving the Russian army no chance to react and seizing any openings to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

With supplies on hand, we can only fight for about ten days at most. Whether we can avoid crushing the 100,000 Russian troops in the Far East depends on this.

Zhao Yan even had a vague idea in his mind: to completely wipe out these 100,000 Russian troops here. It wasn't enough to just break their morale and organization; he also wanted to completely devour them.

Winter is coming soon. If these 100,000 Russian troops are annihilated, the Tsarist rule in the entire Far East will be completely exposed, and the Tsar will not be able to send reinforcements from Europe in time.

But while the idea was good, reality was cruel.

The Russian army realized how terrifying Zhao Yan's combo was. If it weren't for an unexpected autumn rain that saved them, they would probably be fleeing in disarray by now.

While there was still a chance, the Russian generals quickly organized their troops to flee, thinking that as long as they survived, they could always rebuild!

The rain deprived Zhao Yan of the opportunity to crush the Russian army in one fell swoop. The current offensive can only force the Russian army to retreat, but Zhao Yan is still not giving up and personally leads his troops to pursue and attack them relentlessly.

They pursued the enemy for two consecutive days, but the weather was terrible. It rained non-stop, the roads were muddy, the temperature plummeted, and the logistics and supplies couldn't keep up.

After reaching Shuangchengzi, the Russian army was utterly terrified, and of its 100,000 troops, only 40,000 escaped back to Vladivostok.

Zhao Yan was completely unable to keep up, and a call came from the rear that Mongolia was about to collapse!

Zhao Yan had just won a great victory, but he didn't expect that after he set off the fire in Isk, the Russians would turn around and set fire to their own backyard, Mongolia.

The situation of the 8th Division of the National Defense Army stationed in Outer Mongolia was already very bad two months ago. With the support of Tsarist Russia, the Mongolians held a gathering of princes, ostensibly to discuss Buddhism, but in reality to discuss independence.

Then this group announced the establishment of the Mongolian Independence Army and openly declared the establishment of the State of Mongolia, breaking away from China.

The 8th Division of the National Defense Army stationed in Outer Mongolia immediately launched a suppression operation, but with little success. The Mongolian cavalry roamed freely across the grasslands, and the infantry of the 8th Division could not catch up with them at all. After several failed suppression attempts, the 8th Division was forced to retreat to the Xilin Gol region of Inner Mongolia.

Then, at the end of July, a large number of Cossack cavalrymen poured into Mongolia and began to harass Inner Mongolia. The Eighth Division was furious and began to divide its forces to fight back.

However, on the grasslands, if infantry and cavalry dare to split their forces, they are courting death. The Eighth Division's counterattack was quickly and severely damaged, and the Eighth Division, having suffered heavy losses, had no choice but to withdraw.

As September progressed, the situation continued to deteriorate. Mongolia, which claimed to have an army of 200,000, actually began to march south to raid for supplies! The entire Mongolian population was estimated to be only 400,000 to 500,000, so even if they were to exhaust all their resources, they could not muster 200,000 troops.

It was said to have 200,000 troops, but in reality, only about 60,000 were capable of fighting. Among these 70,000, there were more than 20,000 Cossack and Tatar cavalry sent by Tsarist Russia.

The Mongols themselves exhausted their resources and could only assemble an army of less than 40,000 men. Logically speaking, the Eighth Division should not have suffered such a crushing defeat.

However, the key problem lies in the terrain and troop type advantages. The grassland is naturally the main battlefield for cavalry. Infantry can hold on in passive defense, but if they take the initiative to attack, they will most likely be defeated.

If you're a mechanized infantryman, then there's nothing to say. But if you're an infantryman who's not even fully mechanized by mules and horses, then you're full of weaknesses.

The Eighth Division is now trapped on the grasslands of Xilin Gol, in a precarious situation, with its supply lines cut off.

The Russians had the Trans-Siberian Railway behind them, as well as the support of the local Mongols. Their logistics were much easier than the 8th Division's long journey from the inland to the steppe.

Upon receiving the news, the capital immediately sent Zhao Yan's decision via urgent dispatch. However, Zhang Mingqi also offered his opinion, feeling that Mongolia was like a chicken rib—not worth eating but too precious to discard. Under these circumstances, there was no other option but to give up.

Let the Eighth Division find a way to break through and retreat back to the interior. The country can no longer spare a large army to launch a northern expedition against Mongolia. The Eighth Division is the best example. If too few people go, they will be easily wiped out. If too many people go, you will not be able to withstand it.

After reading the urgent message, Zhao Yan's eyes turned completely red. What the hell was going on?! One thing after another, if it weren't for the British stirring up trouble behind this, he would be ashamed of himself!

If the Russians had this kind of ability to send so many people to cause trouble, they would have annexed Mongolia long ago. This is definitely the British throwing money at it!

As for abandoning Mongolia, Zhang Mingqi was able to say this because he was confident in dealing with the cavalry's southward advance. After Maxim's invention, the Mongol cavalry's southward raids were a distant dream.

The people inside the pass were not afraid of the Mongol cavalry coming over. As long as they dared to approach the Great Wall, they would be committing suicide.

But Zhao Yan didn't think so. Times are changing! You're not afraid of the cavalry charging down from the Mongolian Plateau now, but what if, in twenty or thirty years, you're afraid of the Russian armored formations charging down from the Mongolian Plateau?

The Cossacks are almost at Zhangjiakou. If we back down now, not only Outer Mongolia, but even Inner Mongolia will have to run away. Without the strategic depth of Inner and Outer Mongolia, Beijing will be completely left to guard the country's gate.

With the existence of Outer Mongolia, Beijing is the heartland of the begonia leaves.

Without Outer Mongolia, with only Inner Mongolia remaining, Beijing is like the chicken's heart stuck under the chicken's neck, barely able to stay stable.

But if both Inner and Outer Mongolia are lost, then Beijing will be directly exposed as the frontier capital, with its northern border torn open and left vulnerable to the enemy's attacks.

No matter what you say, Zhao Yan cannot bear the cost of losing Mongolia. He could accept Outer Mongolia becoming a neutral country, but he cannot accept it being in the hands of the Russians.

One autumn rain brings a chill; the rain in Isco hadn't even subsided before this one came again.

Facing the army with high morale, Zhao Yan wanted to try his best to completely eliminate a hidden threat.

But the next day, Colonel Dai Mingde, the head of the logistics department stationed in Shenyang, also brought bad news: because the Japanese army on the Korean Peninsula had launched a new large-scale offensive, the military supplies originally scheduled to be sent to the Suifenhe front were urgently diverted south.

Dai Mingde's words were a clear indication to Zhao Yan that they had to stop. This time, the Japanese were serious, launching an unprecedented offensive with over 400,000 troops to attack Wang Chongshan. The Korean War was the core issue, and this area absolutely could not be allowed to collapse.

Helpless, Zhao Yan, who was stationed at the front line in Shuangchengzi, ordered a retreat. Except for the 13th Division, which retreated to Suifenhe to continue holding out against the Russians, the other four divisions went south to join the war in Korea.

One step behind leads to another, Zhao Yan sighed helplessly. Sometimes he did everything he could to the best of his ability, but he was always just a little bit short of luck and could never achieve his goal.

In this game, Zhao Yan only gained the upper hand at the beginning, but due to unforeseen circumstances, he was unable to achieve his goal in one fell swoop. Once his opponent recovered, he immediately stopped giving Zhao Yan the opportunity to play his cards proactively.

Zhao Yan had to do his best to deal with every move his opponent made. Before, he could defeat them one by one, but now his opponents had figured it out and were using one move after another. This was the helplessness of the weak.

Zhao Yan withdrew his troops and ceased hostilities, much to the relief of the Russians, who had felt immense pressure from his presence.

As the army retreated, Zhao Yan personally led the presidential guard to cover the rear. Before withdrawing, Zhao Yan looked back at the distant eastern coastline that was so close yet so far, and finally let out a helpless sigh.

Chapter 113 The Silly and Adorable Dai Mingde

On October 3, Zhao Yan withdrew his troops and returned to Shenyang. His army either remained in Suifenhe to defend the city or went south to support the Korean War.

The last time Zhao Yan left Shenyang was at the end of May. After returning to Shenyang after many months, everything had changed dramatically.

Before Zhao Yan left Shenyang to go to the front line, the whole country was in a state of panic. No one had much confidence in the upcoming war. Everyone was just eager to mend the broken sky with their own hands.

But after Zhao Yan returned from his trip, the whole country was invigorated, and the lost backbone had been found again by Zhao Yan.