Chapter 259 Barrage Xu Jin

Chapter 259 Barrage Xu Jin

Chapter 259 Barrage Xu Jin
Kaufmann knew about steam tractors. During the Crimean War, he served as the battalion commander of the tunnel engineering battalion and had seen the British use steam tractors.

But the British used this thing to transport food and ammunition, and there were not many in total. How could the Qing Dynasty have so many? And it was turned into a war weapon?

The British steam tractors would break down after running for only a few dozen miles. How did the Qing people drive these things all the way to Central Asia?
Wasn't the Qing Dynasty a backward country? How did they make this thing? The world is changing so fast.

As one of the world's most front-line military generals, Kaufman immediately discovered that the mode of warfare had changed with the emergence of steam tractors and armored vehicles.

The infantry in their own trenches were suppressed by enemy artillery fire, but they could still occasionally show their heads to shoot. However, the enemy's charging infantry charged behind armored vehicles, and the attacking side's casualties were reduced immediately.

The Qing army has new tactics and new weapons. Not only can this battle be lost, but Russia will have no choice but to adopt a defensive strategy when facing the Qing in the future. The empire’s world layout and strategic focus must be adjusted immediately!
As for this battle—I'll try again.

"Come here, the Cavalry Brigade and the Dragoon Regiment will go around the flank. Do you see that observation tower in the distance? Bomb it at all costs! If you can successfully decapitate it, this will be the only chance of winning this battle!"

The Cavalry Artillery Brigade had four horses for each man, with light field artillery on their backs, and was escorted by dragoons. They quietly moved from the rear to the right wing, preparing for a sudden decapitation attack.

The front battlefield was already in a mess. The armored vehicles rushed all the way to the first Russian trench. The machine guns inside kept spewing flames, and the Russian soldiers in the trenches couldn't even raise their heads.

The infantry of the Lin Bozai Division behind the armored vehicle threw grenades from thirty steps away, and the grenades rained into the trenches.

Explosions were heard in the trenches, and the severed limbs of Lucia soldiers were flying everywhere. There was no hand-to-hand combat in the trenches, and the surviving soldiers simply raised their guns and surrendered.

Lin Bozai's vanguard soldiers had no time to accept the enemy's surrender. The matter of accepting the surrender was left to the follow-up troops. The vanguards jumped over the trenches, followed closely behind the artillery fire, and rushed towards the second trench.

The armored vehicle battle ended here. The wheeled armored vehicles could not advance across the trenches, and the engineers filling the trenches could not keep up with the speed of the vanguard troops' attack.

Shao Quanzhong, who was standing on the watchtower in the distance, sighed, "It's a pity that the tracked vehicle has not been built yet."

Without the armored vehicles blocking the way, the charging infantry did not suffer too many losses.

At this moment, the artillery had already begun to bombard the enemy's second trench. A dozen hot air balloons were floating in the sky, constantly indicating new targets to the artillery below.

Kaufman was an expert in fighting. Even though he had never eaten fat pork, he knew what was going on when he saw a fat pig running.

In order for enemy infantry to follow the artillery line, on the one hand, these infantrymen must have the fearless courage to not be accidentally injured by their own artillery fire; on the other hand, they also need accurate artillery fire.

This modern army of the Qing Dynasty was not only advanced in weapons, but also in well-trained tactics. Before this, which army in the world could use the tactics of Xu Jin's barrage?
Historically, the barrage was a tactic first used by the British Army in the Battle of the Somme in 1916...

Kaufman was filled with emotion. He had the honor of seeing so many new weapons and tactics emerge today, and it was not unfair that he lost.

My opponent will probably dominate the world soon. After this war, Qing will become a top power, which Russia cannot even dream of.

No, this news must be made known to His Majesty the Tsar. We cannot fight the Qing Dynasty head-on. We must seek peace quickly to avoid greater losses.

At the same time, I will immediately learn from the Qing the tactics I saw today, steal new weapons, and stop fighting the Qing. I will use these weapons and tactics to bully others!

As the governor of Lucia, Kaufman is not concerned about the gains and losses of a city or a battle. The empire's eastern strategy must be adjusted immediately!

He immediately dismounted and found a place to write furiously. The quill pen in his hand was shaking, and the words were extremely sloppy.

After he finished writing, he solemnly handed this urgent memorial to Alexander II to the guards around him, "You must immediately deliver this letter to His Majesty as quickly as possible. This letter concerns the future of the empire and must not be lost!"

After the instructions were completed, a platoon of guards turned around and left with the important letter. Looking back at the battlefield, in the distance, Fat Tiger led 10,000 Torghut cavalrymen, chasing the dragoons and cavalry artillerymen he had sent to launch a surprise attack.

The enemy was well prepared and well commanded, and would not give us a chance to win by surprise. It was obviously a very regular modern army with the support of a staff. On the front battlefield, our second line of defense had been breached, and the enemy artillery adjusted the parameters and had begun to continue to extend the firing.

Although there were still several trenches behind, there was no need for unnecessary sacrifice. Kaufman ordered, "Retreat immediately and in an orderly manner, and defend Tashkent to the death!"

Kaufman was also a famous general. He commanded and dispatched troops in an orderly manner when the situation on the battlefield was quite unfavorable. The soldiers finally retreated into Tashkent City after sacrificing two infantry regiments defending in two trenches under the fire.

After counting the number of people, it was found that 1,000 artillerymen, 1,800 cavalrymen, and 3,200 infantrymen were sacrificed. Of the 20,000 people who went out of the city to fight in the field, 14,000 returned.

"Tashkent" means Stone City in Uzbek. The city walls of Tashkent are built of stone and mud, which is quite solid.

Kaufman commanded his men, deployed artillery to defend the city, and dispatched infantry to defend the city walls, hoping to hold out until the arrival of envoys from His Majesty the Tsar to seek peace with the Qing Dynasty.

However, however, this small request is also wishful thinking. No matter how strong Tashkent is, it cannot compare with Jinjibao and Suzhou City.

The artillery that bombarded Jinjibao and Suzhou City at that time was nothing more than solid iron balls, but what is bombarding the walls of Tashkent now is TNT explosives.

Kaufman fled back to Tashkent. Under the command of the front-line commander Emery, the Huai Army surrounded the city in an orderly manner and then began shelling.

The new shells were pointed, and the huge eight-inch muzzle of the cannon was powerful enough that the shells wedged directly into the city wall.

TNT explosives have a characteristic that their performance is very stable without a detonator, which is completely different from picric acid explosives which will explode upon impact.

The shells of the siege artillery were set with a delayed explosion, and they exploded only after the shells penetrated the city wall. The city wall of Tashkent has now become a site of blasting and demolition.

Once the TNT shells were fired, the ancient city walls lost their function.

Modern big cities do not have city walls, not because of transportation needs, but because the military role of city walls has disappeared.

After just one day of shelling, the walls of Tashkent were completely destroyed.

Governor Kaufman in the city looked through the telescope and slowly raised his head, aiming at the dark muzzles of the siege artillery in the city, and then looked at the siege trenches that appeared overnight outside the city, and sighed, "Surrender!"

On February 23, the sixth year of the Tongzhi reign, the Battle of Tashkent ended.

The Russian Turkestan Governor-General Konstantin Petrovich Kaufman led 24,000 soldiers in Tashkent and surrendered to the Huai Army.

Shao Quanzhong prepared for the battle against the Russians for six years, and it took him two and a half years to swear an oath of allegiance in Fengyang and march westward to Central Asia.

But the most crucial battle with Lucia lasted only two days.

"In the art of war, one must have a thousand chariots, a thousand leather chariots, a hundred thousand soldiers, and a thousand miles of food supply. The expenses for internal and external affairs, guests, glue and paint, and chariots and armor will cost a thousand gold coins a day, and then an army of a hundred thousand can be raised."

"In the use of war, if victory is prolonged, the troops will become dull and weak, if the city is attacked, the strength will be exhausted, and if the army is used up for a long time, the country will run out of resources. If the troops are dull and weak, and the strength is exhausted and the resources are used up, the princes will take advantage of the situation and rise up. Even if there are wise men, they will not be able to deal with the consequences. Therefore, we have heard of clumsy and quick warfare, but have never seen clever and long-lasting warfare. There has never been a country that has benefited from a long war."

"He who plans for victory before the battle has made many plans. He who plans for defeat before the battle has made few plans. Those who plan for victory will win, those who plan for defeat will lose, and what about those who plan for defeat without any plans? From this perspective, the winner and loser are clear."

——"The Art of War: The Beginning of Strategy, The Battle of War"

(End of this chapter)