Chapter 20: The Decisive Battle at Sea (2)

Near East, Chinese Expeditionary Force, Caucasus Front.

If you can't afford the Far East, the combat purposes of the Near East battlefield are different. Based on the principle of starting from land at sea, the Near East Expeditionary Force's combat plan is to fully break through the Russian army's defense line in the Caucasus Mountains and force the Russian army to mobilize troops from the Western Front battlefield to return to defense.

To achieve this strategic goal, after consultation, the three rebels of China, Germany and Turkey, 130,000 people from the 5th and 6th groups of Turkey cooperated with our army's operations. The Turkish army was responsible for the attack on the left, and the Chinese Expeditionary Force was responsible for other directions.

The purpose of the battle was to encircle and annihilate the 230,000 Russian Caucasian Army. The purpose of the battle was to push the defense line forward 50-100 kilometers. The Chinese Expeditionary Force had the First Mixed Brigade, the Jewish Division, and the 66th Division, and the 67th Division as the right-wing group, with a force of 70,000. Chen Yucheng used the 68th, 69, 70, 71st Division as the central assault cluster in the middle, with a force of nearly 70,000. Chen Yucheng also left a reserve force of more than 60,000 people in his hands.

The 2,200 cannons bombarded at the same time, which is unprecedented in the history of the Russian army. This is also the most violent artillery fire that the Russian army has suffered. In the face of such artillery fire, the morale of the Russian army was first severely damaged. In addition to the Russian army's defeat some time ago, it can be said that the morale of the entire Caucasus army was low. Because the Russian army lost almost all artillery in the previous battle, the Russian army's defense against the Chinese army was basically unable to obtain support from artillery fire.

In such an environment, although the Russian army had natural dangers in the mountains, it was still difficult for them to withstand the fierce attack of the Chinese army. The expeditionary army, which had won consecutively, stood far ahead in terms of equipment, morale and number of people, and the coordination between artillery and infantry was basically in the best state. The troops that launched the attack also made clear division of labor before the war, and each unit performed its own duties and attacked the Russian positions.

Although our army had huge advantages, the Caucasus was really important to Russia. The Russian army fought desperately with natural dangers, and the progress of our troops was not very smooth. After a day of fierce fighting, except for a few positions occupied by our army, most of the main positions were still under the control of the Russian army. That night, the Expeditionary Force continued to attack fiercely, giving full play to our army's advantages in field and close combat. After a night of fierce fighting, it finally tear a huge hole in the Russian defense line. The mixed brigade in Shenyang on the right cooperated with the Jewish division, severely damaged one Russian division, repelled the counterattack of another Russian division, occupied many positions of the Russian army, and the Russian army in the middle was unable to resist our attack. The two divisions were defeated by our army, and one-third of the defense line of the Caucasus Mountains fell into our hands.

Our army is progressing rapidly, but the Turkish army is in big trouble. After a day of hard fighting, it only occupied a few small positions on the periphery, and there is no progress in the attack on the Russian army's defense line.

The subsequent battle became even more tragic. The Chinese and Russian troops often fought desperately for a mountain and a high ground. Often, our army immediately fought back as soon as we attacked on one high ground. Due to the special terrain of the mountains, it was not very beneficial to the war of our large corps. Some Russian positions have more people, the greater the losses. The Russian army is unwilling to lose this natural line of defense. Losing this line of defense means that the entire plain is exposed to the Chinese army, and it will be more difficult to defend at that time. Therefore, the Russian army has carried out the most tenacious resistance on every position.

The frontal troops also encountered fierce resistance from the Russian army when attacking several hills. The Russian army was condescending and used dead corners that could not be fired. The 69 and 70th divisions lost thousands of people but did not take them down. In the end, they had to take advantage of the night to mount the mortar to the front and bombard it with a fierce bomb. After the firepower of the Russian army was slightly suppressed, they immediately launched a fierce attack, and then they barely succeeded.

The Caucasus Battle has been going on for three days, and the Chinese Expeditionary Force is still fighting the last hard battle with the Russian army. After three days of battle, the Expeditionary Force suffered more than 10,000 casualties, and the Russian army has only one last line of defense. As long as it breaks through the defense line, there will be a plain with a flat river behind it.

The Near East Battle was in full swing, the battlefield was in a stalemate for a while, and the Far East battlefield was completely different. After three days of battle, our Far East Legion achieved brilliant results and annihilated 150,000 Russian troops. Tomks, Yurga, Kemerovo, Xinkuzerzik, Bisk, Barnaul and other important cities were conquered continuously, and the Russian divisions and troops were encircled and annihilated by our army.

Our Far East Army advances very quickly, especially the Fourth Reorganized Division, which was led by the tanks, has already reached the city of Novosibirsk. Now the Russian army is in chaos on the entire front, especially the front-line troops, which are basically broken and may be surrounded and annihilated at any time. In view of the rapid deterioration of the battlefield situation, the Russian headquarters agreed to the request of the commander of the Russian 15th Army and agreed to the Novosibirsk Front to retreat to Omks. This is another line of defense built by the Russian army to prevent our army from attacking on a large scale, relying on the Ertzis River.

Although the Russian army retreated hundreds of kilometers, it was a helpless move, but it became the best response invisibly. I thought that the Russian army would resist for a few days with Novosibirsk, so that Nie Shicheng's interspersed troops could be in place in time and completely block the Russian army's routine. I didn't expect the Russian army to run so fast.

Novosibirsk was obtained without a fight. Although it took only one week before and after, Nie Shicheng's combat plan to completely wipe out the 15th and 18th Army of the Russian Army had problems. Nie Shicheng was so angry that he kept complaining that Nie Xiaowu fought too quickly. Not only did he say that the 200-two tanks were broken, he also scared the Russian army away. Of course, Ding Ruchang did not escape the fate of being blamed by Nie Shicheng. He, the newly appointed commander of the Second Army, fought too hard because he successfully encircled and annihilated one Russian army, and also played a threatening role in other Russian troops.

After Novosibirsk was occupied, the large-scale attack of our Far East Legion was temporarily stopped, but the pursuit of the retreating Russian troops did not stop, and the encirclement and annihilation of the Russian troops surrounded by our army continued. Our pursuit troops chased to the front line of the Ertise River before the end of the battle, and the fronts of both sides entered relatively stable. The Battle of Novosibirsk launched by the Far East Legion was 15 days before and after the battle. A total of 180,000 Russian troops were annihilated, 200 artillery pieces were seized, 780 Russian artillery pieces were destroyed, 1,500 machine guns, and more than 60,000 rifles were destroyed, and other materials were even more difficult to count.

The Far East Battle was not yet fully over, and there were many victories in the Near East battlefield. After two weeks of hard fighting, the Chinese Expeditionary Force completely broke through the Caucasus defense line that the Russian army worked hard on. At the cost of 30,000 casualties, the Expeditionary Force destroyed most of the Russian Caucasus Army and part of the Russian Turkish Army, killing more than 108,000 enemies in total. After occupying the front line of the Caucasus Mountains, the Expeditionary Force was unable to continue pursuing the Russian army. Due to geographical environment, the supply of ammunition for the troops became a problem, and Chen Yucheng was forced to give up his pursuit of the Russian army.

The Far East Battle and the Caucasus Battle caused a huge blow to Russia. The Russian base urgently mobilized three armies from the Western Front battlefield to return to aid. From then on, the Russian army was no longer able to launch an effective attack on Germany and completely moved into a comprehensive defense.

Due to the continuous victory of the Chinese army, on July 30, Bulgaria announced its joining the Allies and declared war on the Allies.

As the saying goes, you will finish your performance, and the lingering sounds of the two major battles launched by the Chinese army are still lingering. The German army and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, together with the Turkish army, launched an attack from the north and south sides at the same time. This battle aims to open up the connection between Turkey and Austria. In order to successfully realize this combat plan, the German army concentrated 40 divisions, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire also pieced together 15 divisions. The two armies attacked from north to south. Turkey also concentrated 3 armies, and together with the first and second armies of Bulgaria, attacked northward. The two sides used a total of 600,000 troops.

In order to cooperate with this battle, Italy, which has been reluctant to send troops, launched an attack on the border between Italy and France under the joint oppression of Germany and China. Although Italy only used 300,000 people, it still played a great role in echoing the overall actions of the Allies. However, the Italian army seemed to be in average combat effectiveness. After two weeks of attacking the border, it not only did not achieve much results, but also managed to get more than 50,000 people from three divisions, and finally ended in a hurry.

At this time, Russia was already in a complete passive state. On August 5, the German army broke through the first line of defense of the Russian army in Slovenia, and three Russian divisions were annihilated. On August 15, the German army advanced to Sarajevo. On August 16, the Turkish army occupied Nish. The Russian army and the Serbian army were in a situation of attacking north and south, and a one-sided situation appeared on the Balkan battlefield.

Under the continuous attacks of the allied countries, the Russian army retreated across the board and completely withdrew from Serbia. On August 20, Serbia announced its surrender, the allied countries achieved a comprehensive victory, and the passage between Türkiye and Austria was opened.

After the Balkans, Britain and France suddenly discovered that Germany, which was originally attacked by the Allies, is no longer a completely blocked battlefield of independence. Since the Balkans were opened, the land passage from China to sea through the Middle East to Turkey and then to Germany had been opened. The German government ordered 10,000 cars from China at the first time, and there were countless other strategic materials. Due to the British maritime blockade, Germany's original strategic materials had been consumed almost the same.

The eyes of both sides of the war almost immediately shifted to Asia, to West Asia, to the Arabian Sea. Although the British navy frequently launched attacks on Chinese transport fleets on routes to the Arabian Sea, they also achieved considerable results. From July to August, the total tonnage of Chinese fleets was as high as 300,000 tons, but China's shipbuilding industry continued to deliver new freighters to the water at a rate of 400,000 tons per month. In August alone, China successfully transported as many as 1.5 million tons of materials to the Middle East.

A problem is facing the British Royal Navy. It is necessary to increase the attack on the Mumbai-Basra route. To do this, it means that the Royal Navy's special-mix fleet will send more warships, and the target will undoubtedly be increased. The Chinese Navy has long blocked the Strait of Hormuz with mines. The Royal Navy is impossible to enter the Persian Gulf. Now the only way for the British Navy is to destroy the Mumbai-Basra route even more crazily. The British Navy's special-mix fleet will not have any chance of waiting for the fighter jets.

As the highest commander of the Royal Navy's special mixed fleet, Lieutenant General Jack Evanth is now the most troublesome person. It is not that he doesn't want to fight the Chinese Navy. He even wants to lead the fleet directly to Mumbai and Singapore, but all this is too unrealistic. Since Mumbai fell into the hands of the Chinese, forts were built everywhere near the port, and more than 500 large-caliber fortress cannons were aimed at the sea. In addition, a huge Chinese fleet, there is no possibility of winning this battle. Mumbai is 1,650 nautical miles away from Djibouti, and the fleet has to go for two days. The Royal Navy cannot stay on the route for a long time, because it is time for Chinese submarines to rush around at night. The Chinese submarines are not vegetarians.

In view of the above reasons, Evans has always believed that the special mixed fleet is not suitable for taking the initiative at the moment, and can only send some fast warships to form a squadron and constantly harass the route. The facts prove that this tactic is indeed feasible.

However, the current situation does not allow Evans to wait. The British Royal Navy minister sent consecutive telegrams urging Evans to find the Chinese joint fleet as soon as possible to fight to completely destroy the Chinese navy, block the route from Mumbai to Basra, and cut off the Germans' supplies. Only by completely controlling the Arabian Sea and dragging across Germany can this battle be won. Evans decided to formulate a plan to lead the Chinese navy out of the port of Mumbai and then force the Chinese navy to fight to the decisive battle.

The United States and the parliament began to make noise again. After the European war broke out, the Americans made a fierce move by selling strategic supplies to Britain and France. However, the nearest Atlantic Ocean was very uneasy. At the instigation of the Chinese government, the Germans began to carry out unlimited submarine attacks. In just one August, American transport ships suffered 80 attacks, and 400,000 tons of supplies were sunk into the sea. This greatly harmed the interests of the Americans. Now the parliament is discussing a resolution to send naval escorts and whether to agree to the British's request to build three latest battleships for them.

The parliament was soon divided into two factions, one was a force composed of pro-China Jews. They repeatedly emphasized that it was irrational to promise to help the British build warships, or even send fleets to escort them. This would anger China and would likely involve the United States in war. This would not be in the interests of the American people.

The other faction is of course pro-British. They use the excuse of unrestricted attacks from German submarines to strongly criticize the allies and criticize Germany for undermining the interests of neutral countries.

After three days of quarrel, the two houses of Parliament finally passed a resolution, rejecting the British's orders, but sent a fleet to escort American merchant ships. Of course, the escort fee was also paid by the British.

In this way, after passing the Emergency Arms Act, the United States once again passed a resolution that was favorable to the Allies in just six months.
Chapter completed!