Wild North America 1846

Chapter 644 Recovering the Ili River Valley
In order to quell the chaos in Xinjiang, we must first take Urumqi, and then take Kashgar, and fight slowly and quickly before we can achieve great things.

This is what the imperial envoy Zuo Zongtang said when he carried the coffin to the expedition, and the army under his command did exactly that. During the two-year war to suppress the chaos, they tempered their combat effectiveness, and the more they fought, the stronger they became.

Today's 2.6 Hunan Army is the most fully equipped army with muskets in the whole of China. They are generally equipped with Western-style firearms, mainly Mini rifles, and their equipment is relatively advanced.

The Mini rifle is front-loaded, has a slow rate of fire, and has a low firepower density. Compared with the world's advanced rifles, it has fallen behind, but it is still a relatively advanced weapon in front of the Chinese and Tsarist Russian troops.

The Minie rifle has a long range, high precision, and the toxicity of lead bullets are mostly advantages. Both the Xi’an Machine Bureau and the Lanzhou Manufacturing Bureau can manufacture Minie rifles in batches, which can meet the needs of the army.

The Eight Banners Army and the Green Battalion soldiers of the Manchu Qing Dynasty were completely decayed and could not compete with the Western army at all.

However, Zuo Zongtang's Hunan Army is a typical militia, which was trained and built by him. It has proved its strong strength in the war of eradicating the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Shaanxi-Gansu Hui Rebellion for decades, and in the war of recovering Xinjiang.

The reason why Zuo Zongtang dared to fight against the Russians in the Ili River Valley was that this well-trained army was not inferior to any Western army in combat effectiveness.

At the beginning of entering the river
The imperial court prepared an army of more than 8 people, and the imperial envoy Zuo Zongtang led only less than 3 people into the river after careful selection.The most famous of these are Zuo Zongtang's Hunan Army, Zhang Yao's Songwu Army, and Xu Zhanbiao's Shu Army. These are the main forces for the expedition.

Part of the reason for this is that there are no more soldiers, and another part of the reason is that there is a lack of military expenditures, and it is unable to afford more troops to fight in the river, so it is a last resort.

In January 1876, when the war was about to start, the provinces still owed more than 1 million taels of military expenses to Shaanxi and Gansu.

Zuo Zongtang then wrote to the imperial court, citing Shen Baozhen's old practice of borrowing for the defense of Taiwan Island, requesting a foreign loan of 1000 million taels.

Unexpectedly, Shen Baozhen, the governor of Liangjiang at the time, strongly opposed it. After several twists and turns, the Qing court finally issued an edict ordering the Ministry of Households to allocate 200 million taels, the provinces to pay 300 million taels, and Zuo Zongtang to borrow 500 million taels of foreign money.

But raising military pay is still not enough.After that, Zuo Zongtang borrowed foreign funds twice for the Western Expeditionary Army, borrowing a total of 1375 million taels from foreign merchants and another 846 million taels from Chinese merchants.

Coupled with Hu Guangyong's sole agency in importing kerosene in Shaanxi, Gansu and Guangdong and Guangxi regions, Zuo Zongtang did not hesitate to use 450 million taels to subsidize military expenses for the huge profits he has gained over the years.

It is rare in the world to use his own money to supplement the vacancy of military pay, and this is what Zuo Zongtang deserves the most admiration for.

After some difficult operations, the army entering the river was able to have sufficient weapons and ammunition, and the logistics were worry-free, and successfully eliminated the Aguba rebel forces in Nanjiang and Beijiang.

nowadays

Zuo Zongtang's army took control of Kashgar and Urumqi, and everything was ready. After negotiating with Liu Jintang, he immediately dispatched troops. The troops were divided into two groups and marched towards the Ili River Valley regardless of the severe cold.

On October 1877, 10, Zhang Yao, commander-in-chief of the vanguard of the Western Expeditionary Army, led by Zhang Yao, a total of more than 29 people, including 7800 cavalry, set off from Kashgar, Nanjiang, and aimed directly at the Ili River Valley.

The northern route Zuo Zongtang personally led an army of more than 9500 people, including 3300 Mongolian cavalry, starting from Urumqi and marching westward, aiming at the Ili River Valley.

After more than 20 days of trekking, two large armies of anti-insurgency entered the so-called "Zed Shar Khanate" supported by Tsarist Russia, which shocked the Russians.

The Western Expeditionary Army has always had a tradition of "not keeping prisoners alive". This time, they are targeting the people who followed the Tsarist Russian rebellion.

In just 9 days, the two armies, one from the south and one from the north, were as powerful as thunderbolts. They took back 7 towns and killed countless enemies. The two armies joined forces and pointed directly at Yili City.

Ili City is located in the Ili River Valley in the northern part of the Tianshan Mountains in the west of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The lair of the Tsarist Russian invasion army.

The Ili area plus the 44 square kilometers of land in the outer northwest (in the original history, it was occupied by Russia), totaling more than 70 square kilometers, is the territory that Tsarist Russia wants to occupy.

1877. 12, 2

More than ten kilometers outside the city
On the endless withered and yellow prairie in the cold winter, the Russian army and the Qing army lined up on two sides, preparing for the final desperate struggle to determine the final winner.

There were 1.42 Qing troops on both sides. Except for some of the troops staying behind the town, most of the elite gathered here to start a desperate battle with the Russians.

The Russian army on the opposite side has more than 2 people, plus nearly 3 horses from the Zedshar Khanate, the total army is about [-], which is fully double the number of Qing troops.

However, the weapons and equipment of the Russian army are much worse. Less than 7% of the troops equipped with firearms, and less than [-]% of the troops equipped with firearms by the Zedshar Khanate, the rest are still armed with cold weapons such as knives, guns and axes.

The uniforms of its army are even more colorful, and it looks like a large group of beggars from a distance.

The poor equipment of the Russian army is nothing new. Among the major powers in the world, the Tsarist Russian army has the worst equipment. It is still equipped with a large number of old-fashioned flintlock muskets, even the Ottoman Empire.

Compared with the elite European troops of the Russian army that fought in the Balkans, the Tsarist Russian Central Asian army that invaded the Ili Valley was even worse equipped, and even the uniforms were not uniform.

However, the Russian army is well-known for its ferocity and skill in combat, and it has played a terrific and fierce power in Central Asia.

In the past 20 years, the Russian army has successively eliminated the three major Khanates in Central Asia headed by the Kokand Khanate, and seized nearly 400 million square kilometers of land.

Therefore, although the Russian army is poorly equipped, its morale is very high, and it is arrogant to ignore the Qing army, and is determined to teach Zuo Zongtang's troops a lesson.

One side of the Qing army

Zuo Zongtang was riding on a horse in full body armor, his gray beard kept dancing in the cold wind, his deep eyes were firm, and his left and right were guarded by armored generals, all of them looked dignified.

Clearing up the armed forces of the Zedsar Khanate earlier was like chopping melons and cutting vegetables, but now the enemy army in front of us is different. This is the main force of the Russian army's invasion of Xinjiang, and they are all gathered here.

For today's life-and-death battle, Zuo Zongtang's department has already taken out all the heavy machine guns and artillery that have been treasured for a long time.

The heavy machine guns were hidden behind the soldiers, and the artillery was divided into two artillery positions, one on the left and one on the right. The black muzzle pointed straight ahead, ready to fire at any time.

The Qing army adopted a late-strike strategy, so they lined up and waited for the Russian army to attack.

The cold wind howled on the withered yellow prairie, and many soldiers' faces were frozen blue, but they still stood firmly in the line.

This is a strong army that has experienced wars for a long time. Many soldiers are in their 40s and have fought for most of their lives. They have traveled all over the land of China from south to north and west.

On the other hand, the Russian side

The Russian army also assembled more than 50 artillery pieces, but they were all old-fashioned bronze cannons with a short range and low power, and they were just used for appearance.

It didn't take long for the battle to begin.

The Russian army fired first, and the Qing army responded with more violent and deadly shelling. After more than half an hour of "rumbling" shelling, most of the Russian artillery was destroyed, and the personnel also suffered considerable losses.

This made the Russian army lose face, and ordered the army to attack and move forward, braving artillery fire and slowly approaching, seeing that the decisive battle was about to start.

at this time
A group of Cossack cavalry, about 4000 in total, came out from the slanting stab, waving the shining scimitar in their hands, and rushed towards the flank positions of the Qing army.

This is a trick well used by the Russian army, using elite cavalry to attack the flanks of the formation, disrupting the formation and finally defeating the enemy.

see this scene
The cavalry of the Qing army on the left wing did not fight, but turned their horses and spread out, revealing the heavy machine gun positions behind them that were already ready to go.

It turned out that Zuo Zongtang had already arranged 16 Maxim heavy machine guns on the left and right sides, and 8 heavy machine guns on one side, just to prevent the Russian cavalry from attacking.

Seeing the Cossack cavalry brandishing scimitars, shouting ferociously and charging up, thousands of horses trampled on the grassland, Shuo Shuo, who shook the ground, trembled, his power was astonishing.

The cavalry came very quickly. They began to accelerate and attack from more than 800 yards away, and it didn't take long for them to impact within 300 yards. This is the most effective killing range of heavy machine guns.

"Fire!"

Give an order

Eight heavy machine guns and thousands of infantry platoon guns on the left flank opened fire one after another, weaving a dense firepower net, enveloping the bravely charging Cossack cavalry.

Instantly
The charging cavalry array was turned on their backs, blood splattered, and the cavalry was instantly torn apart by the fire net woven by the heavy machine guns.

The cavalry and war horses that fell to the ground stirred up a large cloud of smoke and dust, like a sandstorm rising from the ground, obscuring people's sight.

One could only hear the relentless howling of heavy machine guns, the continuous and steady output of frenzied firepower that killed people, the people and horses in the dust were swept down like rice, and the screams and screams kept coming.

"Cease fire, cease fire, stop..." The commander of the Qing army rushed forward angrily, grabbed the heavy machine gunner and ordered a cease fire.

just for a while

The long magazines that have been shot out have piled up in a large pile, and the hand-cranked heavy machine guns can pour 400 to 500 rounds of bullets per minute. In just a short time, tens of thousands of rounds of bullets have been fired from the 8 heavy machine guns.

This made the Qing army commander's distressed face twitch, and he kept shouting "prodigals, a bunch of prodigals", before looking up.

The strong cold wind had already blown away the sand and dust, and the scene of a bloody massacre was displayed in front of people. Few of the more than 4000 Cossack cavalry who attacked escaped from the sky, and almost all fell under the guns.

A large swath of blood dyed the wasteland red, and such a heavy loss also drove the Russian army crazy, ordering a charge across the board regardless of the cost, trying to beat the Qing army to recover the loss.

the war begins
When the two sides approached within a distance of more than 200 yards, each fired a round of guns. Many soldiers on both sides were shot and fell to the ground. The battle entered the bloodiest and cruelest stage.

Under the Russian army's fierce and fearless attacks, the Qing army's originally neat formation became uneven, and the soldiers in the back row immediately filled up, gritting their teeth and fighting the enemy to the end.

A series of volleys of guns fired one after another, and the heavy machine guns on both sides also joined the battle, setting off a bloody storm in the dense formation of the enemy, and the battle was extremely bloody.

After fighting for more than 40 minutes, the Russian army suffered heavy casualties and finally couldn't hold it anymore, and began to retreat step by step, preparing to retreat.

Seeing that the opportunity for a complete victory was right in front of him, General Zuo Zongtang's solemn face finally calmed down, and he waved his hand resolutely, ordering "take advantage of the victory to pursue and press the whole line."

from this moment on
The Russian army completely collapsed, turned around and ran regardless, hoping to escape this damn hell and stay away from these red-eyed Qing troops.

At this time, the Mongolian cavalry of the Qing army began to chase in all directions, chopping down the enemies running all over the mountains one by one...

night time
The old general Zuo Zongtang who successfully recovered Yili looked at the scene of crying and shouting all over the city and laughed. His expression was full of satisfaction and pride. He finally realized his long-cherished wish of recovering the mountains and rivers, and he will die without regret .

Kill it, burn it, "the Qing army did not keep any prisoners when they entered the river", they all beheaded.

This seemingly cruel policy actually guaranteed the stability of the northwest land in the next 150 years, and guaranteed the integrity and unity of China's territory.

The complete victory of the Battle of Ili not only regained the territory of 26.8 square kilometers in the entire Ili River Valley, but also recovered the territory of 44 square kilometers in the northwest of Ili (note; it was originally split by Tsarist Russia in history), which can be described as a great achievement!

After this battle
There is no longer any established Tsarist Russian armed force in the area. General Zuo Zongtang plans to send more than [-] cavalry troops to sweep up the remaining bandits around in several groups and completely stabilize the situation in the area.

For the long-term stability of the situation in the Western Regions, Zuo Zongtang is already preparing to implement military settlements, and gradually mobilizes some troops with weak combat effectiveness in the pass into the river to realize large-scale military settlements to stabilize the frontier situation.

In addition, heavy troops were stationed at the important Alashankou to ensure the stability of the whole river and prevent the Tsarist Russian army from crossing the natural danger from here and once again encroaching on Xinjiang.

In order to maintain the integrity and unity of the country, Zuo Zongtang has worked hard, but he knows that this is not necessarily a good thing.

Completely defeating the tsarist Russian forces and regaining the whole of Xinjiang is tantamount to slapping Li Hongzhang on the face who advocated abandoning Xinjiang. How could he give up?

The affairs of the Qing court have never been external troubles but internal troubles. Now Li Hongzhang and his family are reused by the court, advocating building a powerful naval fleet to defend the sea.

The dispute between fortified defense and coastal defense arose from this. Zuo Zhongtang was the main minister who advocated "fortified defense".

Whether fortified defense or coastal defense, what they are fighting for is money and power. It is destined that the two cannot urinate in the same pot.

Behind the brilliant victory, there is the possibility of facing attacks from the court's old enemies. At this time, Zuo Zongtang's face was full of pride, and he looked even more resolute under the radiance of the fire.

His long-cherished wish of recovering the mountains and rivers has been fulfilled, and personal honor and disgrace have long been out of his mind.

As long as they are stationed in Xinjiang for one day, the invading forces of Tsarist Russia will not be able to go one step further.

(End of this chapter)