My Italy

A week after Russia and Italy signed a ship purchase contract, a large number of Russian naval officers and soldiers rushed to Italy on ships. They will receive fifteen days of training here and then set off on their own warships.

The Italian naval officers and soldiers who trained them discovered after some contact that the quality of these Russian naval officers and soldiers was worrying. Many of them could not even understand the equipment, and many of them were directly drawn from merchant ships.

Speaking of which, the Russian navy has a large number of officers and soldiers, but the most elite naval officers and soldiers are basically serving in the Far East. I don’t know what the Russian government was thinking, but the quality of the officers and soldiers sent to receive the warships was so poor.

In addition to sending officers and soldiers to receive Italian warships, Russia is also preparing for an expedition.

The two launched Borodino-class ships No. 1 and 2, Borodino and Alexander III, must definitely be brought along.

However, considering that the number of battleships was only five, it felt a bit uninteresting, so a group of honest battleships were also brought along, including the three armored ships Osiliabia, Navarin, and Sisoy. These three are all 10,000-ton battleships built by Russia in the 1990s. However, their speed is worrying and they can only reach a speed of 15-16 knots. I don’t know why the Russians brought them out.

In addition to these three battleships, the Russian Navy also found some other battleships after checking its own assets. Such as the armored cruiser Admiral Nakhimov, the first-class cruiser Oleg, the first-class cruiser Alfred (the one that shelled the Winter Palace), the first-class cruiser Donskoy, the first-class cruiser 28 battleships including the cruiser Monomach, among others. The total tonnage has reached 185,000 tons. Together with the warships purchased from Italy, there are more than forty and nearly fifty warships, and the total tonnage is as high as 300,000 tons.

Moreover, the commander of the team this time has also been selected. Lieutenant General Rozhestvensky, the tsar's favorite, will take charge and lead the team to the Far East in a month.

Yes, it's that simple and crude, because His Majesty the Great Tsar requires that the reinforcement fleet must set off in one month, so there is not much time left for these naval officers and soldiers.

After all, Russia paid such a high price to purchase these warships, so it must play its due role, so it is understandable that the Tsar is anxious.

When the Russians obtained Italian warships and began to form a reinforcement fleet, a new offensive battle was about to begin in front of the Port Arthur Fortress.

Japanese soldiers wearing turbans that killed Cheng Ren, led by officers, launched a charge towards Hill 203.

Highland 203 is located on the west side of Lushun, very close to the city and the port. If the Japanese army captures this highland, it can directly attack the Russian warships in the port. This is a stronghold that cannot be lost in the Russian Lushun Fortress, so the Japanese army regards it as The key to victory in conquering the Port Arthur Fortress.

When the Japanese army launched a tidal offensive, the Russian troops stationed on the high ground were also ready. The Maxim machine gun, regarded as a powerful defensive weapon, was already in place, waiting for the Japanese troops to enter the range and fire. Soon, Japanese officers and soldiers all over the mountains and plains came into view of the defenders. Following the Russian officer's order to fire, gunfire erupted on the position, and the charging Japanese troops were continuously knocked down.

In particular, the 17 Maxim machine guns placed on the position created a hail of bullets, causing the Japanese troops who rushed over to fall in batches, turning the front of the position into a Shura field.

As the commander of the Third Army, Nogi Nogi watched the entire process of his men being shot and killed by the Russians. Unlike other officers who had expressive expressions on their faces, he immediately continued to issue orders without changing his expression. "Let the First Division prepare and continue to launch the attack. At the same time, give orders to the artillery positions. The shelling must not stop until our soldiers board the positions."

Nogi Nogi's words made other officers in the Third Army headquarters look shocked, because this was too dangerous for the attacking soldiers, and the soldiers might be defeated by their own artillery fire.

"Your Majesty Commander, please consider this carefully."

As the Chief of Staff of the Third Army, Lieutenant General Yukisuke Ichichi rarely gave advice to his chief officer.

The chief of staff, who had studied in Germany, felt that such an attack would dampen the morale of his side. At present, the Third Army's two consecutive general attacks on Lushun have failed. This made the officers and soldiers of the Third Army a little afraid of the Lushun Fortress. Some people privately called Lushun the Gate of Hell, and attacking Lushun was like breaking through the Gate of Hell. At this time, forcing soldiers to die regardless of their safety may lead to backlash.

Faced with the advice of the chief of staff, Nogi Nogi shook his head and said. "There is no need to think about it. I have made my decision and ordered the artillery fire not to stop unless our army attacks the position. Otherwise, if the artillery fire stops, it will be dealt with according to military law."

Faced with Nogi Nogi Nogi's tough attitude, what other officers in the headquarters could say was to execute it.

So under his order, the next batch of attacking Japanese troops rushed forward. These Japanese troops faced the enemy's firepower and their own shelling and rushed towards the enemy's position with grief and anger.

More people fell to the ground along the way, and the losses were even greater.

"Very good, continue the attack, the artillery is not allowed to stop."

Nogi Nogi, who was observing the battle situation with a telescope, finally had a moved expression when he saw the situation on the battlefield. What he was looking at was the garrison position. Under this desperate attack, the casualties on the Russian position were increasing. After all, these Russian officers and soldiers needed to resist the Japanese attack in the position, so they had to stay and expose themselves. At this time, the casualties would definitely be higher than It was bigger before. But no matter what, the Japanese army must have suffered the greater casualties from the artillery fire, because they were the attackers, and they suffered at least several casualties from one artillery attack without cover.

However, although the Russian army suffered many casualties, the Japanese army suffered greater losses.

When night falls, both parties are licking their wounds. Of course, they still have the necessary vigilance, because they also know whether the other party wants to take advantage of the night to give them a hard time.

After returning to the headquarters, Nogi Nogi left the staff officers to make plans for tomorrow, and pulled Yukisuke Ichichi to another room.

"Chief of Staff, this time I will refute your opinion in person. Don't take it to heart. I must maintain the authority of the chief officer."

Nogi Nogi entered the room and apologized to Ijichi Yusuke.

"I don't deserve it. I also fully understand the commander's mood at that time. It's me, Meng Lang."

After clearing up the previous small problem, Nogi Nogi sighed and said. "Port Arthur Fortress is too difficult to defeat. I hope that the Qing army we face can win without a fight."

Of course Ichichi Yusuke knew what his chief officer meant. So far, he and Nogi Nogi were under great pressure in this tough battle. The government has urged it several times, and Dongxiang has also paid a visit to the United Fleet. Even at the Manchuria Army Headquarters, Commander Marshal Dashanyan personally asked him if he needed help.

These words conveyed only one meaning inside and outside, to capture the strategic point of Lushun Fortress as soon as possible. Especially after learning that Russia purchased Italian warships, it became more concerned.

How can this not put the Third Army under tremendous pressure? You must know that the Third Army wants people and things. Even with such heavy casualties, the base camp did not say a word. What they want is the Third Army. Capture Port Arthur as soon as possible. One can imagine how much pressure the two of them were under.

"I plan to submit my resignation to His Majesty if this general offensive fails again. I have failed to live up to His Majesty's expectations."

Nogi Nogi suddenly said this. In fact, he has been under tremendous pressure since the battle of Lushun. On the one hand, Lushun has not been conquered for a long time, and on the other hand, it is because of the huge casualties caused by the attack. These two mountains have been weighing him down. When he saw the casualty report today, he had the idea of ​​​​resigning. In total, the Third Army has suffered 46,000 casualties so far, but Port Arthur is still firmly in the hands of the Russians. This is a huge blow to people's confidence.

His words shocked Ichichi Yusuke, and the chief of staff said quickly. "Your Excellency, Commander, this is very inappropriate. It is extremely irresponsible to resign at this time. It will betray His Majesty's trust, and it will also give His Majesty the reputation of being ignorant of people. Please think twice."

Seeing that his chief of staff never left the emperor and was loyal to him, Nogi Nogi hesitated again. It doesn't matter if you die to apologize, but it doesn't matter if you injure His Majesty the Emperor.

"Then let's continue fighting first and let's not talk about resignation."

After seeing that the idea of ​​resigning as chief officer was dismissed, Ichichi Yusuke also breathed a sigh of relief. If Nogi Nogi resigns, he can also be said to be incompetent as the chief of staff. This is too unacceptable.

Thinking of this, he looked at the Lushun Fortress in the darkness. What method should he use to break through the enemy's position?