The sun never sets

But this gun is not without its shortcomings, that is, it requires a bit high physical fitness from the soldiers and is not suitable for the physique of Asians. However, for Guo Songling, a native of Northeast China, he would not think there was any problem.

He pulled the bolt, looked inside, found that everything was fine, and then loaded the bullets. When everything was ready, there was only one minute left. Guo Songling, like other soldiers, quietly waited for the final moment to come.

At the beginning of the counterattack, it was his first time commanding a battle as a battalion commander, and he felt nervous and uneasy. After just a few days, he had grown into a qualified commander. Other officers and soldiers also grew up after the baptism of war. Although the number of people became smaller and it was supplemented once, the combat effectiveness of this battalion became stronger.

"Click", it was five o'clock. Guo Songling jumped up from the ground and shouted: "Follow me!"

The heavy firepower that had been deployed earlier opened fire together, and the heavy machine guns sprayed flames and fired fiercely in the direction of the Russian army. The mortar team first conducted a test fire, then adjusted the angle, and the second shell landed in the Russian camp, so they changed to rapid fire. The accuracy of the mortar is not as good as that of the field artillery, but the rate of fire is extremely fast. It is common for a well-trained artillery team to fire more than ten shells a minute.

Under the cover of heavy machine guns and mortars, the soldiers bent over and rushed towards the Russian artillery positions.

Chapter 275 Courage

The Russian army is a brutal and barbaric army. When they are in an advantageous position, they will become extremely brutal, and rape and massacre are easy to do. But when they are in an unfavorable position, their morale will decline faster than other powers. After the wave of nationalism rolled up, the Russians are still just steamrollers, and cannot rely on their huge size to enter Western Europe.

These old Russians have been in the Northeast for more than three years. At the beginning, they boasted that "one Russian soldier is equal to five Chinese soldiers." At that time, they did have the capital to brag. The troops of the previous dynasty in the Northeast were all old-fashioned armed forces, and most of them were equipped with swords and spears. Of course, they could fight however they wanted. Moreover, they had the advantage in manpower. Even if the Italians came, they could easily win with such a huge advantage.

In 1900, the Russian army, relying on advanced weapons and several times more troops, occupied most cities in the Northeast. The rest of the time was spent suppressing various militias that resisted the Russian army and the defeated soldiers of the previous dynasty. That was the most comfortable time for the Russian army. Often, only one company of troops was needed to drive the Chinese away.

By November, the situation had changed. The militia and defeated soldiers in the Northeast were incorporated by the People's Party. After receiving a large amount of weapons and equipment, the weakest army actually turned around. Although the weapons sent by the People's Party to the Northeast were not the latest rifles and cannons, they were only one generation behind the latest weapons. The Russian army did not use the most advanced weapons either. The two sides were evenly matched, and the Russian losses became ugly.

The guerrilla war lasted until the middle of the following year. The Russians changed from suppressing the guerrillas everywhere to building military bases everywhere to avoid being attacked by the guerrillas. The guerrillas appeared and disappeared like ghosts. Every time they gathered several times the troops and firepower on the local battlefield, surrounded the small Russian troops, annihilated the Russian troops, and then disappeared quickly.

The Russian army, which had lost more than 10,000 soldiers, could not bear the constant bleeding and assembled 120,000 troops to attack Jinzhou. They also sent troops to land in Huludao under the cover of the fleet, hoping to completely devour the Liaoxi Corps of the People's Army. The result of the Liaoxi War was that the Russian army suffered heavy casualties and brought shame to the imperialist family.

From then on, the Russian army no longer said things like "one Russian soldier is worth five Chinese soldiers", but regarded the Chinese army as an equal opponent. After all, they still have some self-esteem and will never admit that the People's Army is fighting better than the Russian army.

But even if they didn't admit it, their bodies were still honest. After being attacked in the field and in the stronghold, most of the Russian soldiers no longer chose to bravely rush forward, but to run away. The commanders and soldiers of the Liaoxi Corps and the Rehe Corps at the 1,000th level said that the Russian army's combat effectiveness was declining rapidly and it became much easier to fight.

The reason why the Russians had not fled was mainly due to Grand Duke Nicholas, who was a relative of the Tsar, so he was able to withstand pressure from all sides and reorganize the Russian army. But he was only a relative of the Tsar, not the Tsar himself, and could not do more.

Didn't the Tsar himself waver on various policies? He went back and forth several times on the issue of "serfdom". So Russia has always been the weakest link in imperialism.

Even Grand Duke Nicholas Romanov gave up the attack and switched to digging holes and defending. You can imagine how bad the Russians are now. However, the Russian army is used to "offensive", and after switching to defense, it took them a while to understand the essence of "mobile defense" and "defensive counterattack".

As for Gongchangling, because it was behind the Liaoyang defense line, the Russian army did not expect the People's Army to attack here, so they were not prepared for the battle. Once attacked, they immediately fell into chaos. Moreover, the attack came from both the north and south directions, which made many Russian soldiers think they were surrounded.

Ten mortars fired a continuous explosion, with shells hitting the target at a rate of one per second.

Two or three rounds landed in the Russian camp. The twelve heavy machine guns formed a fiery fire net, and the Russian soldiers who hit this fire net were torn into pieces.

"Don't be afraid! They're just bullets!"

A Russian officer shouted loudly, ordering the soldiers to launch a counterattack. Although the firepower of the People's Army was fierce, it was impossible to knock down all the Russians. Some Russian soldiers gathered together, holding Mosin-Nagant rifles with bayonets, and shouted as they rushed in the direction of the heavy machine guns and artillery fire.

The Russian army was called gray cattle. They were ignorant and barbaric, but it was undeniable that they were brave.

Guo Songling rushed to the front of the team. When he saw the Russian army rushing down, he immediately shouted: "Grenade!"

The soldier behind him immediately took out a grenade, pulled the string and threw it out with force. Shooting, bayonet fighting and grenade throwing are all combat skills that the People's Army soldiers need to master. Only soldiers who have met the training standards will be incorporated into the field army. The soldiers in Guo Songling's battalion not only mastered combat skills, but most of them were veterans with combat experience. They knew how to fight without too much command from officers.

Soldiers who were good at throwing grenades threw them at the Russians continuously, while those who were good at shooting stopped and fired rapidly in the direction of the Russian army while standing or squatting. Guo Songling was different from them. He held a bayoneted rifle in his left hand and fired at the enemy with a revolver in his right hand, but because the distance was still far, it seemed that he did not hit the moving enemy at all.

"Damn it!"

Guo Songling smashed his pistol at the oncoming enemy and roared, "When two meet in a narrow road, the brave one wins! ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

He held the rifle in the most standard posture and strode forward. Even though he had participated in many battles, every time he fought with a bayonet, Guo Songling would feel as if his scalp was exploding. Blood rushed to his cheeks, and a chill rushed up his spine. At this moment, adrenaline was secreted crazily, and time seemed to slow down.

The soldiers who charged with him also roared, and in a "three-in-a-group" formation, they charged into the ranks of the Russian army. The bravery of the Russians was beyond doubt, but they had been "surprised" and were in a state of confusion, and their morale had not risen, so they could not exert 100% of their combat effectiveness.

Fighting requires courage!

At the moment of collision, the high-spirited soldiers of the People's Army instantly overwhelmed the Russian army. The Russian army, which had barely gathered together, collapsed, abandoning their wounded companions, and some even threw away their weapons, fleeing in panic into the darkness.

Chapter 276 Changes

"Great victory, great victory!"

The instructor shouted excitedly: "Our battalion defeated a Russian regiment and captured 18 artillery pieces! The soldiers are all great! I will ask the regiment commander for credit for you!"

Guo Songling was so tired that he just nodded but didn't say anything. Bayonet fighting really tests one's will and courage, and physical strength is also consumed very quickly. In just a few minutes, he felt like an hour had passed. Fortunately, the Russians were finally defeated, otherwise, I'm afraid I would be injured.

Perhaps because of his good luck, he was always on the front line, but he was never injured. In the past, he was outnumbered, or at least his forces were equal, but this time he was outnumbered, which made Guo Songling feel unprecedented pressure. He was almost stabbed by the Russian soldiers.

Fortunately, the Russians collapsed. The enemy threw away his weapon and turned to flee. He did not have the strength to chase him. He just watched the Russian soldiers run into the darkness. After resting for a few minutes, he gradually regained his strength. Guo Songling stood up and said to the instructor: "Let the soldiers rest for a while, and then take the time to prepare for defense."

Gongchangling is located in the southeast of Liaoyang, behind the Russian Liaoyang defense line. By occupying this place, the People's Army can bypass the Liaoyang defense line that Grand Duke Nicholas worked so hard to build and directly attack Shenyang. It can be imagined that the Russians will definitely launch a counterattack on Gongchangling.

The infantry "infiltration assault" tactic is very powerful, and is an improved version of Er Dezi's "storm assault tactics", but it requires very high quality officers and soldiers, and soldiers must have a high patriotic enthusiasm and be willing to sacrifice for the country before it can be used. Infiltrating into the enemy's territory, there are enemies on all sides, and if you are not careful, the whole army will be annihilated. This cannot be done without high morale.

However, infiltration assaults also have their limits. First, the infantry carries limited ammunition and food, and cannot support large-scale encirclement and outflanking. Second, due to the limitations of current communication technology, it is difficult for the infiltrated troops to contact their superiors and friendly forces, and fighting a war places high demands on the commander. When all around are enemies and friendly forces cannot be contacted, should they hold on or retreat when the situation becomes bad?

The commander of the troops can only see the situation around him and the troops under his command. He has no idea of the overall situation. Is it meaningful to hold on? Is the friendly army attacking or retreating? What if the battle fails? Those troops who infiltrated the enemy's rear are equivalent to jumping into the enemy's encirclement.

Zhang Lingfu of the 74th Division wanted to use the tactic of "blooming from the center", but ended up being surrounded.

Guo Songling did not know Zhang Lingfu's "story", but he understood that they were now

After regaining some strength, he immediately picked up the engineer shovel and joined the trench digging. In addition to digging fortifications, he also sent people to the mountains to bring up a lot of clean water. Clean water plays a big role in battle. It not only allows soldiers to maintain their combat effectiveness, but also heavy machine guns cannot do without water.

When shooting continuously, if there is no water, the barrel will burn red.

After digging trenches for a while, Guo Songling shouted to the soldiers who were digging trenches: "Li Chengxi, Li Chengxi!"

"Hey!"

A plain-looking young soldier ran over and asked, "Captain, what's the matter?"

"When the fight breaks out, don't go up and fight with bayonets, just shoot from behind."

Li Chengxi was not from the Northeast, but from Jiangsu. He was not very tall and did not look like a particularly good fighter. However, his shooting performance in the training camp was very outstanding. He could hit a watermelon at a distance of 400 meters using a carefully selected Mosin-Nagant rifle.

He joined the battalion as a replacement soldier. Guo Songling had not noticed this unremarkable young soldier before, and it was the instructor who found out about him from the soldiers. Several people saw with their own eyes that Li Chengxi shot with divine help and killed several Russian soldiers.

"Oh."

Li Chengxi didn't ask why, he just did whatever the battalion commander said. Obeying orders and fighting bravely, isn't that what being a soldier is all about?

While Guo Songling's camp was digging trenches to resist the Russian counterattack, the situation of the entire war was rapidly changing in favor of the People's Army. The Liaoyang defense line created by Nicholas Nicholas was indeed very solid. The heavy howitzers transferred from the Eastern Front headquarters bombarded for several days before opening a gap, which was then blocked by two divisions of the Russian army. But what was the use of blocking it?

The People's Army used only 12 troops to pin down 23.5 troops outside Liaoyang. The main force of the Rehe Corps had liberated Songyuan and other places, and was heading towards Daqing. It was possible to attack Harbin at any time. The Russians took great pains to build a railway to Harbin, which was the supply center of the Russian army in Northeast China. The food and drink of the Russian army in Liaoyang, Shenyang and other places had to be transported from Harbin by horse-drawn carriages. If Harbin was attacked, would the Russian army outside Liaoyang go back to rescue it, or not?

The Russians were too greedy. If they were willing to give up big cities like Lushun, Liaoyang, Shenyang, and Changchun and stockpile their main forces in Harbin, the People's Army might have a headache. Attacking a city surrounded by trenches, barbed wire, and mines would definitely result in heavy casualties, even if the People's Army used the "infiltration assault" tactic.

This was determined by the military technology of this era. The advantage of the defenders was too great. Not every battle could be fought like the one at Gongchangling. But the Russians were too greedy. They hoarded their main forces in Liaoyang, and the remaining troops were deployed in a long snake formation. From Harbin to Lushun, such a long front line would not be enough even if there were 23.5 troops. Grand Duke Nicholas had only troops, of which were in Liaoyang. How many troops could be deployed in other places?

Even an important city like Harbin only has 3 troops, and even fewer in other places. As long as they can keep an eye on the Russian troops in Liaoyang, they can fight as they please in other places. But if they can't hold back the Russian troops in Liaoyang, the troops deep behind enemy lines will be in danger of being surrounded.

So, using only half of the troops, can we hold back the more than 200,000 Russian troops in Liaoyang?

Lin Yongchang felt that he was still confident. Not only could he hold back the Russians, he could also try to launch an attack. Nicholas* Nicholas had gathered his troops together, clearly intending to let the People's Army attack. In this case, he should not disappoint the Russians.

Chapter 277 Bombardment

Liaoyang, Anshan.

A brigade of Russian troops was stationed here not long ago. It was one of the outer positions of the Russian "Liaoyang Defense Line". After a fierce battle, the Russian army withdrew to the defense line. After the People's Army liberated Anshan, it built artillery positions here and deployed the long-range cannons and heavy howitzers directly under the headquarters on several artillery positions here.

During wars, cannons were usually not placed in one place for a long time. To prevent being hit by enemy fire, they were often moved. However, the anti-artillery technology of the time was still very backward. Most of the time, direct shooting was used, and the indirect shooting technology was not yet perfected. Therefore, it was not necessary to move the cannon after firing a few shots. It was fine to move it every two or three days.

At the artillery position numbered Ding-9, a telephone suddenly rang. Beijing Xin, an officer who was dozing off, immediately grabbed the receiver with his left hand and said, "Hello... Oh, please speak... Yes, the coordinates are XXX, XXX, repeat, XXX, XXX."

While he was on the phone, he marked the coordinates sent by the command center on a piece of paper. After he pressed the button, the officer grabbed the paper and walked out of the room, shouting, "Fire ready! Now!"

The artillerymen got busy. They took off the rain cloth covering the cannons, pulled the ammunition and medicine bags to the corresponding cannons with a cart, and then fired a test shot according to the coordinates sent by the command center. Long-range artillerymen usually cannot see the targets they are shooting at. The range is too far. After the shells are fired, they can only hear the tremors of the earth and the explosions from afar. The battlefield is always full of various explosions and roars. Sometimes, even the explosions cannot be heard.

Most of the artillerymen had their ears plugged.

They had to plug their mitts and wear earmuffs to avoid being deafened. They stopped after firing a shot because they couldn't see whether they hit the target. Many times they had to wait for feedback from the front line and then adjust the shooting angle. If they fired randomly, the shells might fall on their own heads.

Soon, the phone in the room rang again. A new order came, "Hit the target, fire one salvo!"

“Hey yo!” “Hey yo!”

Two gunners used large pliers to pick up the shells and put them into the barrel, then stuffed the cannon launcher bag into it and closed the breech block, and it was ready for firing. "Number one, ready!"

"Number 2 is in position!"

"Number three is in position!"

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

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

"emission!"

A thunderous roar suddenly erupted from the artillery position, and as smoke and dust rose, more than a dozen heavy artillery shells flew into the distance. After a while, the shells landed on a Russian artillery position. The blast and shell fragments swept across the entire position, tearing the Russian troops on the position into pieces. In front of the heavy howitzers, even if a barrier was built, it was useless.

After several consecutive rounds of salvos, the Russian artillery positions were in ruins and no one could survive such a fierce bombardment.

Overall, the People's Army was better than the Russian Army in terms of light artillery and infantry, but it was not as strong as the Russian Army in terms of heavy artillery. The Russians had more than 100 cannons with a caliber of more than 260 mm, while the People's Army had only more than 100. Russian Night Assault Group: 280④⑨, ③ The Chinese also had ten mm caliber mortars, while China had no such weapon.

The People's Army has some fortress guns purchased from the British, which use retired naval gun barrels. They are as powerful as the Russian super-caliber guns, but there are fewer of them. It doesn't matter if there are fewer of them, as they can just concentrate the large-caliber guns for use. The Russians distributed the guns evenly among the army, and the effect was much worse.

In addition, due to the existence of the [Heavenly Sun Never Sets] system, the efficiency of the People's Army in using long-range artillery has been greatly improved. Lin Yongchang pointed on the ground, and the shells seemed to have eyes and blew the Russian barracks, stables and artillery into pieces.

The Russian army built a solid defense line, waiting for the People's Army to crash into their positions and bleed. The People's Army launched an attack, but the way of attack was not what the Russian army imagined. In the first attack, the artillery brigade directly under the Eastern Front Headquarters, together with the long-range artillery of the Liaoxi Corps, destroyed the three-kilometer-long Russian defense line with precise shooting, and then launched an attack.

The offensive achieved some results, and the People's Army advanced five miles, but the gap was quickly closed by the Russian mobile forces. The Russian army was able to mobilize its forces faster than the People's Army, and it was difficult to achieve continuous breakthroughs relying on the two legs of the infantry.

The Russian artillery bombarded the breach fiercely, blocking the People's Army from deploying follow-up forces. The People's Army could still continue to attack, but if it did so, casualties would inevitably rise sharply. The first attack was just an attempt. The result of the battle proved that the People's Army had the ability to break through the Russian defense line, but breaking through the "Liaoyang Defense Line" did not cause the Russian army to collapse. Liaoyang City had been transformed into a huge fortress by the Russians.

It would take more than one or two days to capture Liaoyang. During this period, the huge Russian forces would squeeze in from both sides, and the People's Army would be in an extremely unfavorable situation. The troops were trapped under a strong city and were attacked by the enemy's superior forces. It seemed that the whole army was going to be annihilated.

Since the Russian army still had the will to fight, they had no choice but to withdraw their troops. The casualties of the strong attack were too great, so after discussing with the generals of the General Staff, Lin Yongchang decided to use a large-scale encirclement and penetration to cut off the supply of the Russian army in Liaoyang and besiege them.

Although the People's Army used in the Liaoyang battlefield had only 120,000 people, which was almost half of the Russian army, who said that you can't surround with fewer people? You can still surround with fewer people! The Russian army was still very capable when defending, and was no match for the People's Army in field battles. Not only could they surround Liaoyang, but they could also surround Shenyang, Lushun and other places.

If the Russians came out from behind the defense line, we would defeat them in a field battle. If the Russian army did not come out, we would continue to surround them, first attack Harbin, destroy the Russian army's logistics supply center in the northeast, and then fight along the railway all the way to Vladivostok.

There are a lot of enemies in Liaoyang, and the troops in Shenyang, Lushun and other places are much less, but as long as it is a strong city or fortress, the People's Army will not attack it first, just continue to besiege it. Other places like Qiqihar, Benxi, Fushun, Tieling, Kaiyuan, Shuangyang, Jilin and other places can be taken.

First divide and encircle, then concentrate artillery and troops to eat the wrapped dumplings one by one. As long as the dumpling skin is not broken, there will be no problem at all. The number of Russian troops in other places is small, so there is no need to worry about them breaking through the encirclement and posing a threat to our army. Only in Liaoyang, there are too many Russian troops. If the Russians launch a strong attack regardless of casualties, they may be able to turn the tables.

Although this possibility is very small, it is not impossible. In order to make a sure thing become a sure thing, Lin Yongchang formed the Third Army and personally led the troops to keep an eye on the Russian army in Liaoyang. This way, there is no risk of failure. Unless 300,000 Japanese troops come from the Yalu River, otherwise, the loss of the Russian army will be a disaster.

Defeat is inevitable.

Chapter 278 Blackmail

Japan began mobilizing several months ago, and the total force has reached 32.4. Such a large force is definitely not for fun. Whether the 30 troops are used to attack the Russian Far East or to invade the Northeast, they may change the situation on the Northeast battlefield.

On the other side of the Yalu River, several Japanese divisions had appeared. Lin Yongchang didn't know what the Japanese were going to do, so he could only ask the North China Corps to prepare for war, and asked the Liaoxi Corps to send a division and a brigade to the Yalu River to prepare for war. A part of the Liaoxi Corps was drawn to join the Third Army, and another 30,000 people were sent to surround Lushun, and the rest of the troops were used to guard against the Japanese.

When the Meiji government contacted the People's Government, it said it would declare war on Russia, but now it has not taken any action and is just blindly increasing its military strength. Regarding this abnormal behavior, not only Lin Yongchang was skeptical, but many people who had a good impression of Japan also realized that something was wrong.

Wu Tingfang met with British diplomats several times in succession to inquire about the reasons. The Anglo-Japanese Alliance was not reached, but Japan was still Britain's younger brother, and the British should be consulted for matters concerning Japan. Jordan first spoke a lot of diplomatic rhetoric, and then mentioned Qinghai-Tibet, the Western Regions, the division of China into north and south, as well as the customs and the debts and indemnities owed by the previous dynasty, with the intention of taking the opportunity to blackmail.

The British government needed someone to stop Russia's expansion, but this did not prevent them from putting pressure on the people's government at the same time.

Wu Tingfang originally had a favorable impression of Britain. He was the first Chinese member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. However, since he had dealings with British diplomats, his favorable impression of the British Empire had taken a sharp turn for the worse. The arrogance and shamelessness of British diplomats were fully exposed at the negotiation table. Even if Jordan dressed like a gentleman, he could not cover up the stench and greed beneath his makeup.

"Does that mean that if we don't agree to your terms, the Japanese army will declare war on China?"

Wu Tingfang didn't want to talk to Jordan about international law and conventions, so he asked directly: "Can I understand it this way?"

Zhu Erdian smiled and said, "No, that's not what I meant. I hope you can consider the British Empire's suggestions again based on the actual situation."

"..............", Wu Tingfang often told people that he was still young, but he was already in his sixties. He felt very tired of haggling with the British. "I know what you mean. I will report your proposal to the State Council and the President's Office."

Zhu Erdian said: "I hope President Lin can make the right decision this time and not delay it for too long. Otherwise, the Empire may not be able to control the situation."

Wu Tingfang took a deep breath, stood up, and shook hands with Zhu Erdian. "Goodbye."

The German "dreadnought" has been launched and is undergoing sea trials. Europeans exclaimed that the Germans are leading the trend of the navy. The British Empire is fully responding to the challenge of the Germans in Europe, but the gentlemen in Downing Street have not relaxed their oppression of other countries. There is no way that the British will hand over such a big piece of cake in northern China to the United States and Germany.

The British war threat was sent to the State Council and then passed to Lin Yongchang who was on the battlefield in Liaoyang.

"What is coming will eventually come. The British are unreliable!"

Lin Yongchang knew this a long time ago. Imperialism is a tiger that eats people. No matter how affectionate they appear, they will eventually tear off their veil and eat people. But Marshal Lin feels that he is great now. He doesn't need to drink to go to Jingyang Ridge to fight the tiger.

"Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continue to talk to the British, but we will not agree to any of the conditions that undermine China's sovereignty!"

Information was transmitted back and forth between Taiyuan and Liaoyang via telegrams. The people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were afraid that if the negotiations broke down, the Japanese army would really attack, and the story of "One Stone" might be repeated. Most of the elite forces of the People's Army were deployed in the Northeast battlefield. If those 400,000 elite troops were lost, not only would the prestige of the People's Government suffer a great blow, but they might also be attacked directly by foreign enemies in Taiyuan.

However, Lin Yongchang was very tough. Even if the Japanese army came, he would never give in on the principle. At most, Shandong, Hebei and other places would be turned into ruins. If they wanted to invade Shanxi, the Japanese and British would have to have that ability! Even if they destroyed all the industries in Shanxi, they would not be able to retreat on the principle!