The sun never sets in America

Chapter 289 Black Sea Storm: Broken City

[Seerstopol: the most brutal battlefield of this era. 】

[Paris newspaper: No one can leave Selstopol alive, unless he is God! ! 】

[Moscow News: The heroic Russian army fought tenaciously against the enemy in Crimea, leaving enemy corpses strewn across the fields! ! 】

[The Times: The red shirts used their loyalty and courage to tell the Russians whose era this is! ! 】

[Xijing Daily: The Chinese-British coalition captured more than half of Selstopol on the afternoon of July 6, and the war is expected to end soon. 】

For more than a month, the whole world has learned about the strange and convoluted place of Serstopol, and that there are more than 300,000 people working to build a fortress city on the Black Sea, in Ukraine, and in Crimea. , fighting to the death, and knowing more about the cruelty of war.

As of July 8, in more than a month, the Ottomans, Tsarist Russia, Han, Britain, and even the soy sauce France invested a total of 340,000 troops in repeated battles for this city.

Its brutality even exceeded the sum of all previous Russian-Turkish wars. The number of casualties alone exceeded 150,000. Although the main casualties were Russian and Ottoman, the Chinese and British still paid a heavy price. A total of 6,042 people were killed, which was the largest number since the Sino-American War.

The British lost more than 17,000 soldiers. The initial 30,000 soldiers had long been used up. As a last resort, they had to recruit troops from the colonies and mainland. Among them, Australia and Canada were second only to the two major conscripts. " India", but it also exceeded 10,000 people.

Since the population of overseas colonies was relatively small during this period, more than 10,000 people, even if divided equally between Australia and Canada, was a considerable burden.

But there is no way, who calls them British? Although like Australia, many people were exiled, but "bringing the British" hires people without asking the cause and effect, and will only let you make the "contribution" you deserve.

As for those who have not contributed enough, they naturally have to feel the "iron fist" of the British Empire.

In addition, there is India. When the war reaches this level, it is very difficult to step down, so conscription is a very difficult matter. As India, which has the most abundant population under British rule, is naturally a big tax collector. According to the recent British issued According to the call-up order, the Indian region will provide at least 100,000 qualified soldiers.

It seems that these 100,000 people do not match India's hundreds of millions of people, but if you look closely, you will find that what is needed is "qualified" soldiers, not those low-caste people who don't even have enough to eat.

This request is actually directed at the "Sikhs", the old slaves of the British family.

This group of turbaned men, as well as those Nepalese Gurkha mercenaries, were the British's favorite soldiers and guards. The most important thing was that they were loyal and able to strictly carry out the orders given by the British.

Most of the newly recruited Indian regiments are Sikhs and Gurkhas, except for some troops provided by local kings.

Regarding the British's practice of arbitrarily recruiting "natives" to work for themselves unconditionally, the Han people saw it in their hearts and were extremely envious. After all, the Han country did not have so many "livestock" to consume.

Of course, it is impossible to say that there was no such thing, because the casualties were increasing day by day, forcing the cabinet in the rear to come up with the idea of ​​borrowing Japanese and Mexican troops to replace the Han army.

Among them, Mexico, its own vassal country, was the most difficult. It directly requested the provision of 30,000 elite soldiers, and the weapons were provided by Han.

[Actually, they are Mexican veterans]

On the other hand, they were relatively polite to Japan. They gave some profits to Japan and "borrowed" 15,000 soldiers from Japan.

After borrowing soldiers, they were naturally replaced. The first army on the front line was directly replaced, allowing the Mexicans and Japanese to take over.

As for the Second Army, part of it was divided according to the plan and went to the Caucasus to assist in defense.

In this way, the Han army on the front line of the Black Sea actually only numbered more than 30,000 people, which was not even as good as the British. For this reason, they received strong opposition from the British. They only gave up the matter after promising to command a part of the Ottoman army.

According to the current situation, although it is a rotational style of play, the number of people on the battlefield is basically limited to about 300,000, but sooner or later it will break through the peak, and it will be even more cruel. Therefore, in order to prevent the Russian army from counterattacking and the war to continue to stalemate, The best way is to defeat the hundreds of thousands of Russian troops on the opposite side and occupy all of Selstopol. Seize victory in one fell swoop! ! ——

Black Sea Command————

After more than a month of repairs, the entire Black Sea Command and the useful engineering troops quickly built a two-story cement building. Due to the short time, the cement was not smoothed, and it looked very "battlefield".

Even the pictures hanging on the walls, many of them are hand drawn and rushed works.

The entire Black Sea, the deployment of hundreds of thousands of troops at the front and rear, and battlefield plans were all made in such a simple place.

"I think the flexible allocation of firepower should be strengthened instead of being obsessed with artillery groups. Such artillery groups are ineffective in such a tightly defended fortress. Instead, they are a burden!!"

"No, I was told that the army should be spread out as much as possible. Only in this way can we have a chance to break the defense from the inside!!"

"You are all wrong. We don't need to stick to a so-called fortress at all. Instead, we should concentrate the battlefield on the plains. On the plains of Ukraine, fight ground battles and mobile operations with the Russian troops. Only in this way can we give full play to our capabilities. Military advantage!!"

"You think we don't want to, but as long as we can't take Selstopol, the Russian army will always cause trouble in our rear, and our army will only fall into greater passivity!!"

"We can-"

In the conference room, a new round of arguments broke out. This kind of argument was not surprising to everyone. After all, since the war started, it has not stopped at the front and it has not stopped at the rear.

In the ordnance maintenance depot at the rear, a group of soldiers were doing what they had to do every day.

Click! !

Several Ottoman mechanics took apart a jammed lightning rifle. After a final inspection, they concluded that there was a problem with the gun. From the repaired spare parts, they selected a good-looking one and installed it, and finally sent it to the shooting range for trial. If the gun is qualified, it will be sent back to the battlefield, and if it is unqualified, it will be sent back for "research".

In the entire ordnance institute, there are hundreds of talents summoned from major Ottoman arsenals, as well as some ordnance experts assisted by Han. These people are mainly here to check the effectiveness of Han's weapons and what areas need improvement, and quickly record them and send them through the Atlantic Ocean. Telegraph, sending the message back to the country, redesigning and revising it.

On the ground, an old-fashioned mortar was continuously dismantled and restored.

There were several Han military technicians on the side who were calculating the trajectory, rate of fire, etc., even including the wear and tear in the ballistic trajectory.

Wang Da, who was holding the record book, quickly recorded data while modifying the design drawing in his hand.

On the design drawing, a small mortar appeared on the paper. It looked neater and more portable than the mortar on the ground.

This kind of artillery is a recently developed "mortar". Due to industrial manufacturing reasons, it is only made in 120 mm and 90 mm.

It's too big. In the recent war, it looks like a "bright spot", but it is actually very difficult.

After all, it is a big problem to move such a big thing, especially considering that it was originally designed to carry weapons alone, which makes it even more unqualified.

Therefore, according to the requirements of the Black Sea Command, it is required to design a mortar that is small in size and can preferably be carried by two or three soldiers.

On the drawings, it was an 80mm mortar that had been reduced. However, due to the steel-making technology of this era, even an 80mm mortar was still very heavy. As a last resort, it was changed to a 60mm mortar that could be lifted by three people. .

(Three fixed legs, one soldier carries one)

But because it was too small, although the smallest artillery piece in Han Dynasty was 55 mm, it was technically a cannon.

Although this kind of gun is not big, it requires a bracket and wheels to move. Coupled with the weight of the gun, even if it is light, it must be over a hundred. In addition, coupled with its slender stature, no matter how good it is, it will not be able to enter the complex battlefield.

So in the end, the only choice was to develop a small mortar.

The most troublesome thing is here, because it is small, so it is troublesome.

After all, the most troublesome thing about anything is not the big ones that look bulky and old, but the small ones that are delicate and young.

The current group of technicians is encountering such a problem. Fortunately, Han's industrial level is now in the first echelon from a global perspective.

So they only need to transmit the data required on the battlefield back. The real trouble is those factories in the rear.

…………

Xijing Arsenal! !

The huge iron fence and red fonts constantly remind passers-by where this place is.

In the factory, after a new batch of modified assembly lines were officially put in place, a batch of drawings of so-called "new guns" were sent down from above.

At last look, good guy, isn't it just a smaller version of the original ninety mm mortar? ?

However, after production, it was discovered that this so-called "new model" was completely different internally. Not only the gun body had shrunk, but also the supporting shells. The power may be only one-third of the original, or even less.

So much so that some people described it as a "large grenade".

And this so-called "grenade" is only 50 mm in size, not even the 60 mm originally designed. Its power can only be said to be about the same as several grenades combined, otherwise it would not have caused so many complaints.

But even so, after the military experiment, it placed an order for a thousand units in one go, and even more.

Even the Xijing Arsenal can’t figure out how good this “thing” is? ?

Finally, two weeks later, the first 150 "Little King Kong" mortars produced were sent to the Black Sea battlefield. At this moment, the Black Sea has long been in a state of disarray, and using scorched earth is not enough to describe the current situation.

The Russian army on the opposite side also relied on eating black bread to resist, leaving Zhao Longsheng speechless. Why were the Russian troops so easy to fight on the plains, but so difficult to fight in the city?

In the end, we can only continue to let the Japanese play "onboard" tactics.

When the artillery arrived at the Black Sea, it was already late July. The entire Russian-Turkish war had been fought intermittently for several months, with a total of 300,000 casualties on both sides.

Basically 100,000 people a month! !

Human life is like a piece of grass, and this is indeed true on this battlefield.

As Zhao Longsheng said:

"If there is no black soil on the white bones, then whose son is he?"

In such a stalemate, the Second Army of the Han Dynasty was secretly transferred back from the Caucasus, and even the British army stopped taking "vacation".

Because, the moment of decisive battle has arrived! !

.............................................

"The current Russian army in Seerstopol is about 170,000 people, mainly composed of three armies."

"Since the war started, the Russian army has completed several blood changes. According to our intelligence, these batches are basically new troops."

Chief of Staff Zhou reported on the specific situation of the Russian army on the opposite side.

The person below was taking notes with a pen.

"Our army currently has a total of 50,000 people, the British army is about 70,000, and the Ottoman army is about 100,000. Judging from the specific number of people, we are ahead of the Russian army, but considering that the Russian army occupies the remaining half , and the city of Selstopol is constantly being built and expanded. The basic advantages are actually just a little more..."

On the map, there are arrows for various ministries, and in the middle is the remaining half of Selstopol occupied by the Russian army.

On the larger map, there is a situation map of the entire battlefield.

There are about 100,000 Russian troops and the same number of Ottoman troops in the Caucasus. The two sides are basically in balance. Until now, due to terrain restrictions, they are basically on the defensive.

In the Balkan direction, there are more than 200,000 Russian troops. If you add in the hundreds of thousands of Russian troops entrenched in Eastern Europe, the number will basically exceed one million.

But the account cannot be calculated like this. With Russia's national strength, the war has been going on so far, and it has been able to supply hundreds of thousands of people. The extra hundreds of thousands are actually the so-called "scarecrows."

It's used to scare the enemy! !

Once one area of ​​the Black Sea and Caucasus battlefields is lost, it will lead to a complete collapse.

This is why the Russian army wants to fight against Selstopol. It is not how important this broken fortress is, but how important the Russian Empire is.

And ending this long war is what Han wants to do! !

When all the reports were over, Zhao Longsheng stood up and issued the order in a firm tone:

"Gentlemen, the bear hunt begins!!"

After more than a month of preparations, plus the weapons and ammunition prepared by the rear, a new round of war will begin, and it will be the last one.

Because the Russians can't fight anymore! !

Boom boom! ! !

After the shell exploded, the shrapnel ejected killed several defending Russian soldiers, leaving "gray" blood on the ground.

"Mortar!!"

"Quick, set it up!!"

A brand new little King Kong was set up on a tripod, and several soldiers quickly adjusted the angle.

Gunners selected from the artillery force constantly use their "thumbs" to measure the firing angle.

Finally let out a sound:

"One quick shot!!"

Whoosh! !

Cannonballs as big as mallets were fired into the pit, killing several Russian troops stationed inside.

And when the triangle area emits "tongues of fire", the blind spots that were originally inaccessible can be easily suppressed.

Even those targets that cannot be hit can be covered with smoke bombs fired by Little King Kong.

Suddenly, in one day, the front line that was broken through was equivalent to half a month.

This is by no means a good thing for the Russian army, and based on this, the order to continue reinforcement was issued.

However, the long-term war has already exhausted the "consumables", and it is already difficult to repair them at this time.

But at this time, the coalition forces on the opposite side were chasing after them as if they had taken "medicine".

Like hundreds of thousands of wild dogs, they are constantly compressing the Russian army's living space.

This is the situation inside the fortress, and it is the same outside. More than 100,000 Austro-British coalition forces are blocking the way for Russian reinforcements. No matter how fiercely the Russian army attacks, they will not give up an inch of ground! !

The cost of this situation was the entire Seerstopol, and even the 170,000 most elite and combat-savvy Russian troops.

"Quick, don't hesitate!!"

"Attack attack!!"

Frontline, such a "rough" word, is short, concise and powerful.

Even those Ottoman soldiers who were "greedy for life and afraid of death" knew that the end of the Russians was coming.

So, don't seize the opportunity to beat the drowned dog! !

In the small fortress and on the positions outside the fortress, the Russian defense line was continuously compressed, and finally compressed to a position of about seven square kilometers and became immobile.

Because it is no longer necessary. At this time, like a wounded beast, it is always more cost-effective to siege than to hunt.

In the last stronghold, the Russian Black Sea Commander Lukyev stood there without saying a word. People around him were waiting for his orders.

The lives of 140,000 Russian troops were now "firmly" in his hands.

Lukyev looked at the "anticipating" eyes around him, and at this moment he suddenly understood Nosigav who had surrendered some time ago.

Although the other party has been called a "traitor", he understands that it is a helpless choice made out of necessity.

And now, the choice is his.

In the end, he made the same move as Nosigav, surrendering! !

When the news of the surrender came out, hundreds of thousands of people in the entire Russian army even began to "celebrate". Months of offensive and defensive battles had already polished off their "tempers". At this time, surrender was a matter of fact. kind of relief.

On the opposite side, Zhao Longsheng, who was preparing to accept Lukyev's surrender, received a shocking and reasonable news. General Lukyev committed suicide at the age of fifty-two.

Just like his last words:

"After the war, please bury me in Selstopol, a place where hundreds of thousands of Russians died. I feel sorry for them and I need to atone for my sins!!"

When news of the surrender of Selstopol fortress came, Downing Street went into a frenzy and London newspapers sold out that day.

In Paris, Napoleon III fell silent. He didn't know whether the current situation was good or bad for France. ?

In the Winter Palace, Nicholas stood there blankly and finally said:

"Tell the British I can give up the Balkans, but I must give Crimea back!!"

Yes, Crimea is strategically more important than the isolated Balkans.

In Han Dynasty, Liu Peng just drank a sip of tea, sat under the sunset, and said:

"How can it be so easy to end the war? After all, the bear has not yet cut off its flesh!!"

　Asking for monthly votes and rewards

　　

　

(End of this chapter)