Chapter 16 Defeat

In 1625, Huang Taiji moved the capital from Liaoyang to Shenyang and began to build a palace in Shenyang. Nine years later, Huang Taiji changed its name to Shenyang as Shengjing. Ten years later, taking advantage of the civil strife in the Central Plains, Shengjing became the accompanying capital after the Qing Dynasty moved to Yanjing. The Qing Dynasty claimed that Shengjing was the prosperous land of Manchuria, and buried the emperors of the two dynasties. Therefore, Kangxi set up Fengtian Mansion in Shenyang with the intention of "Fengtian Chengyun" in the fourth year of Kangxi. Change Shengjing to Fengtian to show that he will not forget the original and the memorial to the Emperor Taizu Taizong.

Although the Manchu Qing Dynasty promised that "Manchuria" was the "land of ancestors" and Fengtian was the "place of the dragon's prosperity", from October 1, Gengzi year, the Russian army occupied "Manchuria" and seized Fengtian in the name of Ping's definition and the chaotic people. Although those Manchu ministers were itchy and angry, they were angry, but they were I'm really afraid of foreigners. Although the two years ago, with the support of the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, the two countries signed a "withdrawal treaty". Although they promised all kinds of rights and interests to Russia, although the Russians agreed to send local officials from China, the Russians did not withdraw according to "Manchuria". Fengtian, like the whole "Manchuria", is still the place of Russia until now. According to.

Although Fengtian is not the heart of Russia's northeast, it is the main road connecting the north and the south, especially after the outbreak of the Russian war, the loss of Dellini and Arthur Port (Lushun). Fengtian's "leap" has become Russia's most important transportation hub in the southeast, from the Russian mainland via the Siberian railway, or from the sea. Most of the materials transported to the war zone through the Middle East Railway were unloaded here. After the soldiers supplemented from the European mainland were trained in Manchuria, they were also gathered in Fengtian, which was also the headquarters of the Russian army.

On the map of the two Russian armies, Fengtian is still Fengtian, but on Chinese maps and newspapers, Fengtian has already restored his real name - Shenyang.

In March, the two armies invested twice the population of Shenyang City, and more than 700,000 people fought fiercely within 200 miles outside Shenyang City. For the two Russian armies, this may be the largest battle planned since Lushun, and this battle has not developed into a wilderness as speculated by the outside world. It is said that a protracted war is not only 8 days, and the victory or defeat is a foregible.

On March 9th, Fengtian, from the early morning, the whole city fell into chaos. Soldiers retreating from the front line walked through the city. The shops on both sides of the street, whether Chinese or Russian, were closed. At the railway station, thousands of Russians of Russians crowded towards the train like crazy. At this time, there are still trains full of weapons, ammunition and all kinds of supplies entering the station. In order to leave the city, well-dressed Russian men, like Chinese sitters in the railway station, desperately carry and unload materials, so that they can empty the carriages and let them get on the train to leave this damn place.

The rumbling sound of cannons in the air and the sound of cannons getting closer and closer remind the Russians inside and outside Fengtian City that the fall of Fengtian is only a matter of time. Although the Russians have a heroic tradition of defending dirt, for these civilians, what they can do is to leave this damn place quickly. Of course, there is not There are no officers and soldiers who desert.

In the Russian military headquarters, despite repeated failures, Kurobatkin, who had almost never tasted the fruits of victory, was decadent. After Fengtian's defense was on the verge of collapse, his desperate and negative heart spread in his heart, starting from the full-line retreat two days ago, although he knew that Fengtian The war is already inevitable and will face failure. However, he did not dare to retreat from Fengtian. In the previous year, the Russian army lost consecutively on various battlefields and the fall of Lushun made the Tsar and the Russian political axe very eager to turn the situation around. For this reason, a large number of troops were transferred from the Far East, Central Asia and even Europe to the front line. The whole Russia was eager to rely on a victory to save the domestic crisis. At home, the workers' strikes and anti-war intensified the domestic crisis. When the Tsar was in urgent need of a victory, Kurobatkin was unwilling and did not dare to retreat.

"... Since yesterday, General Lignevic's first army and General Billy Gerlinger's third army were ordered to give up their positions to retreat, although the enemy troops were blocked from resisting desperately, the Japanese army still pursued with the main force. Since then, the situation on the east line has been relatively stable. However, the crisis rose. From 5:00 a.m. today, the Yalu River Army of the Japanese Army turned into pursuit. At present, it is entering the area of Fushun. The 1st Group Army has moved quickly and attacked in the direction of Fushun. The Guards Division of the Japanese Army advanced north along the Pu River. From this, it can be judged that the First Army of the Japanese Army tried to join forces with the Naimu Department, thus encircle our army. Under Fengtian City, it is expected that the actions of the First Army of the Japanese Army will cut off the contact between the First Army and the Second and Third Armys of the Japanese Army. At the same time, the Fourth Army of the Japanese Army was ordered to turn to pursue yesterday and broke through our defense last night. At present, it is like the front line of the southeastern highlands of the Great War, and the Second Army continues to Pushing forward to Fengtian, due to the withdrawal of the Liaohe defense line of the middle [***] team, the third army of the Japanese army has crossed to the west of the Liaohe River with the help of the ice bridge, which has appeared in the rear area of our army. At present, it should be cutting off the railway and highway between Fengtian and Tieling. ......"

The report of the Chief of Staff exacerbated the despair in Kurobatkin's heart. He never thought that the contraction of the front would lead to such a serious crisis on the whole line.

"Your Excellency, this decisive battle of Fengtian has not only failed, but also if our army does not retreat early, we will be surrounded by the Japanese army and then be besieged and anniled!"

Chief of Staff Mad Tov solemnly warned that the commander was still hesitating, and he reminded him again.

"Your Excellency, we should have retreated to Beiman yesterday, but now it is too late for a whole day and night. If we don't issue an order, once the 3rd Army of the Japanese Army occupies Tieling, our army will inevitably fall into a siege, and the Russian Empire will have to face a Sedang-style siege and annihilation battle!"

"Sir, we must retreat before our army is defeated. Only by withdrawing into the North Manchurch, with the lengthen of the Japanese front, can our army regain its advantage..."

In the persuasion of everyone, Kurobatkin sighed, "Do you really want to retreat?"

At this moment, a VIP officer broke into the battle room in a panic.

"Your Excellency Commander, General Lignevic, the commander of the 1st Army, sent a telegram saying that the army cut off the front of our army in the junction of the 3rd and 1st Army!"

This sudden news suddenly changed Kurobatkin's face. He could hardly believe his ears. The Japanese army's attack speed was so fast that he asked again.

"General Lignevic, the commander of the 1st Army, sent a telegram saying that the Japanese army cut off the front of our army at the junction of the 3rd and 1st Army!"

"Immediately send a telegram to Lieutenant General Kaulbars, the commander of the Second Army, and order the Second Army immediately launch a counterattack against the Third Army of the Japanese Army to cover the retreat of the whole army!"

The key officer's answer finally made Kurobatkin make up his mind. The cutting-off of the 3rd and 1st armies made him have no choice. He knew that even if it was delayed for another hour, it was possible to put the three armies of the Manchurian Army into the encirclement of the Japanese army. At that time, the whole Russian Far East would be When the army opens its doors, Russia will lose not only Manchuria, but also the whole Far East.

"Order the 1st and 3rd Army, the 16th Army and the 72nd Division to immediately retreat to Tieling along the railway line, and the order must be executed immediately!"

Kurobatkin gave the order, and Major General Nedrich said in a hurry.

"Your Excellency Commander, we still have..."

Without waiting for him to finish, the eyes of his colleagues around him made the military engineer, the major general responsible for the logistical support of the entire Manchurian army, swallow the words back.

"At this time, let's keep the army first!"

Kurobatkin, who understood what he was going to say, shook his head helplessly, and then turned his head to look at Madrid Tof. Yesterday, he ordered the whole line of defense. In the face of the pursuit of the Japanese army, he proposed that he must give up Fengtian immediately. He could not agree, but now he could only taste the bitter fruit of this brewing.

This order to retreat came too late, at least all day and night. Lieutenant General Cowbars, the commander of the 2nd Army, who originally took over the defense line as ordered, ordered the troops to immediately launch a counterattack against the 3rd Army of the Japanese Army at all costs. The fierce and sudden counterattack, causing the pursuit of the Japanese army to be at a loss. When Xidian did not urgently adjust his troops, the headquarters and the two general reserve teams of the 16th Army and the 72nd Division first withdrew from Fengtian by train.

When it was dark that day, the Fengtian Russian army began to carry out the retreat order issued by the commander-in-chief in Fengtian. Although the Russian army did not collapse like the French army in the Franco-Prussian War, it retreated towards Tieling along the South Manchurian Railway, which was protected by the Second Army.

However, when the Russian army retreated, under the continuous attack and shelling of the Japanese army, there was complete chaos inside and outside Fengtian City. In order to be able to safely withdraw to Tieling, the soldiers lost all the materials outside, countless cannons, food, firearms, ammunition and tens of thousands of thousands of materials that had just arrived in Fengtian.

"The Russian army has retreated!"

In the chaotic Fengtian City when the Russian army retreated, some bold Shenyang citizens even ran out to pick up the food discarded by the Russian army. In the same way, some people opened the arsenal discarded by the Russians in the Russian barracks, followed the gun and ammunition out in a car, and suddenly retreated from the whole line, and even Yu Rang's army did not have time to respond. Almost at the same time as the Russian army in Fengtian City began to retreat, some places in Fengtian City appeared. This was the intelligence officer of the Military Intelligence Agency who entered the city a few months ago.

(The Russian calendar used by Russia at that time, that is, the time of the Augustus calendar, could not be found for a few days, so let's use the Gregorian calendar directly! Including China, it is too troublesome to use the lunar calendar. I hope you can understand)

(to be continued)