Wild North America 1846

February 18, 1855

About 6:00 in the morning

The coalition forces concentrated thousands of artillery pieces to launch a fierce bombardment of the Russian positions. The fierce artillery fire cut through the morning light and hit the Russian positions hard, causing dust to fill the air and the ground to shake.

Those shells that exploded when they hit the ground were trigger-fuse shells fired by the new Colt breech-loaded field gun. After they landed, they exploded in a large area. The exploded earth debris collapsed, and clouds of thick blue-black smoke rose up.

The solid shells fired by the old-fashioned artillery hit the walls and bastions of the Russian army positions, and at most they shattered a piece of stone as big as a washbasin. Their lethality and deterrence were far inferior to those of the new shells.

The Tsarist Russian army had become accustomed to the bombardment of the coalition forces. They hid in the trenches with their guns in their hands, and when they had time, they took out the black bread from their arms and chewed it in their mouths, appearing calm and composed.

In the army camps in the city of Sevastopol and its suburbs behind, a large number of Russian soldiers hurriedly got up, driven by their officers, and gathered in long queues towards the front line.

Russian soldiers gradually reinforced the front line through two large iron bridges, preparing for a desperate battle with the coalition forces.

Generally speaking

The Russian soldiers who were huddled in the fortress defensive position used 50-gram cone-shaped heavy bullets loaded with muskets to counterattack, which could cause fatal damage to the attacking British and French forces.

Often when the attack reaches close range, the British and French allied forces have lost more than 1/3 of their soldiers due to the cross-fire of artillery fire and bullets.

In the end, the Tsarist Russian soldiers were able to repel the attacking enemy forces through fierce hand-to-hand counterattacks.

Similar battles have been repeated countless times, which has made the Russian army, from the commander to the soldiers, form a habit of dealing with the coalition attack step by step and gathering a large number of troops to the front.

The fierce bombardment lasted for more than two hours. At 8:15 in the morning, the horn of attack sounded on the coalition positions. Hundreds of thousands of coalition soldiers poured out of the trenches and formed an offensive queue under the supervision of officers.

.

Huge military formations, one after another, one after another, spread out over a vast snowfield of more than ten square kilometers. British soldiers in red military uniforms and French soldiers in dark blue military uniforms, and their heads.

Ottoman soldiers wearing high hats formed an offensive formation that could not be seen at a glance.

Clearing up after snow

The army formations on the vast snowfield are particularly eye-catching, spreading layer by layer to the end of the sky. The smoke-filled battlefield creates a strong atmosphere of decisive battle.

On the bastion position held by the Russian army

Prince Menshikov, who was wearing a ferret fur cloak, had his nose red from the cold, and his deep brown eyes showed solemnity. He put down the single-lens brass telescope in his hand and said in a reserved tone: "It's really confusing, although I

I admire the persistent offensive spirit of the British Lord Raglan, oh... By the way, there is also the French Marshal Armand. They know clearly that they are not popular and lack the ability, but they still make futile efforts again and again. This is really

It’s very regrettable.”

"Your Highness the Prince, your Russian warriors are ready to fight back and let them taste the iron fist of Russia again."

"It seems that we need to give the British and French allied forces a deeper memory. I will mobilize my Guards Cavalry Division and Cossack Cavalry Division. Their sharp sabers are eager to harvest heads. This will be a good opportunity to gain military exploits."

"Your Royal Highness, as you wish."

"I would like to inform all the generals and ask them to implement it according to the established combat rhythm. I believe everyone will be familiar with it, so I will not make specific arrangements."

"As you command, Your Highness."

Prince Menshikov, who had a beautiful upturned beard, nodded gracefully and seemed neither nervous nor surprised by the huge offensive formation of the coalition forces.

As the commander-in-chief of the Russian army who resisted the British and French troops for nearly a year in the Defense Battle of Sevastopol, the two sides fought dozens of large and small battles. Although the Russian army lost more and won less, it ultimately contained the coalition's attack.

Momentum, the Sevastopol Fortress was firmly defended.

Only from this point of view

Prince Menshikov is undoubtedly an outstanding commander in the Tsarist Russian army. He is indeed qualified to be proud. He single-handedly blocked the successive attacks of the British, French, Tang, Ottoman and Sardinian coalition forces, and threw the war into a confrontation.

In the quagmire.

Let’s hurt each other, who is afraid of whom?

The upper-class nobles of Tsarist Russia never cared about the lives of the lowly serf soldiers. They were like weeds, growing again after being cut, and they were inexhaustible consumables.

Just as the Tsarist Russian troops gathered on the narrow front line of positions on the north shore of Severnaya Bay and the Bebek Gorge, suddenly a dense sound of gunfire came from the west, faintly carried by the cold wind in February.

"Where is the shooting happening?" Prince Menshikov frowned and turned around, looking at the west with an unhappy expression. It was obvious that this sudden situation made him very unhappy.

"Reporting to Your Highness, this seems to be gunshots coming from our military camp in the west, which should be where General Yanukovych is stationed. How could it be... I immediately sent someone to check the situation."

"General Yanukovych, is that Ukrainian noble?"

"Yes, Your Highness, General Yanukovych led the reinforcements from Odessa to the fortress more than a month ago and assigned them to be stationed in the western suburbs of the city. He has about 15,000 troops under his command."

"What do you think happened there?"

"Oh, Your Highness, could it be that...were you attacked by an enemy?"

"Hahaha... Poor General Valery Stodymir, your imagination really surprises me. The one-foot-thick snowstorm just stopped yesterday. What kind of army do you think can intervene?"

Flying over the precipitous Mount Achamund with wings? This is really ridiculous." Prince Menshikov burst into laughter, then stopped his smile and stared at his subordinates with extremely oppressive eyes and said;

"It must be the damn battalion Xiao, ordering that stupid General Yanukovych to suppress the troops immediately. I don't want to worry about these little Ukrainian fleas when facing the decisive battle of the coalition forces. Let them solve these troubles as soon as possible.

."

"Yes, Your Majesty the Prince, I will immediately send someone to convey your order."

"Go quickly, maybe we can use these Ukrainians in the counterattack."

Speaking of which

The arrogant Prince Menshikov turned around and returned his attention to the approaching British and French troops, and his expression became serious.

He could tell;

The coalition forces on the opposite side gathered almost all their strength in a desperate move, with 160,000 troops coming out in full force. This would be a severe test for the frontal defense of the fortress.

Western suburbs of Sevastopol

An astonishing number of Datang Kingdom's expeditionary troops poured out like a tide. Under the initial intensive fire attack, the soldiers had already invaded the Ukrainian military camp, killing the Russian troops crazily with deadly and intensive firepower, and harvesting lives efficiently.

The expeditionary force appeared too suddenly, as if it suddenly appeared after heavy snowfall. Even the Ukrainian soldiers guarding the camp did not recognize it as an enemy at first and thought it was a friendly force that was about to be mobilized urgently.

Caught off guard

Already overwhelmed by the tide of expeditionary soldiers, they rushed into the camp with rifles in their hands and started an almost one-sided bloody massacre.

Soldiers of the expeditionary force are generally equipped with the Colt 1848 lever repeating rifle (extended version). This rifle can press 13 rounds of bullets with the bullet in the barrel, commonly known as "Thirteen Rings", and one round will be empty.

The last shot can release ferocious firepower at an extremely fast speed.

These Ukrainian soldiers from Odessa were in bad luck. Since they did not receive an order for reinforcements, some of the Russian soldiers in the barracks were eating breakfast, some gathered to discuss the violent shelling in the morning, and some had their sleeves rolled up.

Looking south like a military camp, unaware that disaster has come.

Their guns were kept in a centralized manner. When they encountered the murderous expeditionary force soldiers who rushed in, they were all unarmed and frightened. Then, they were shot to the ground piece by piece amidst the intense gunfire. Zeji, who luckily escaped with his life,

The flying dog jumped and ran around, and was quickly knocked down by bullets from nowhere...

Just over 20 minutes

This Ukrainian barracks entrenched in the western suburbs was completely destroyed, killing and wounding tens of thousands of Russian soldiers and taking more than 5,000 prisoners.

Adhering to the brave attack style, while some expeditionary force soldiers surrounded and rushed into the Ukrainian military camp, another part of the expeditionary force soldiers maintained a strict formation and fought all the way to the city of Sevastopol.

The orders they received were to defeat and eliminate any Russian troops they saw, take the opportunity to occupy the solid defensive positions, forts and bastions in Sevastopol and hold them, preparing to meet the Russian army's crazy counterattack.

The vanguard troops that entered the Ukrainian camp in the western suburbs left a small number of troops to guard the prisoners of war after a short rest. The large force of about 23,000 troops continued to fight towards the north.

along the way

Since the Russian high command moved forward to defend the defense line, the soldiers of the expeditionary force who were charging and fighting were hardly hindered. Even if they encountered a small group of several hundred Russian soldiers, they would be defeated in one blow and could not stop them at all.

Every cent.

more than an hour later

Shortly before 10 a.m., the soldiers of the expeditionary force, who were charging and fighting all the way, approached the position about two or three kilometers away from the southern shore of Sevinaya Bay.

from here

You can see the dark Russian soldiers waiting in formation in the distance, all facing north. The south and north shores of Severnaya Bay are full of surging heads and rifles. A simple count shows that there are at least 120,000 Russian troops in front of you.

.

This is just what you have seen. How many more have you not seen?

The sound of artillery was rumbling in front, and the dense gunfire was like a storm. The heavy smoke filled the battlefield, like a heavy fog.

Under the interference of gunfire, the Russian troops in front were completely unaware that a large number of soldiers from the expeditionary force were already behind them.

The visibility on the battlefield was low, and some Russian troops who had just been sent as messengers rushed over. When they saw the soldiers of the Tang Kingdom marching in formation, their expressions suddenly changed, and it was already too late to run back to report the news.

A burst of gunfire rang out, and these Russian messengers fell from their horses like birds with broken wings.

Soon, the expeditionary force was getting closer and closer to the Russian troops with their backs turned, from two or three kilometers to within a thousand yards, but the Russian army still had no idea.

Major General Duan Debiao, who was commanding the army to advance steadily, was so ecstatic that the military band stopped playing. The phalanxes of the infantry regiments quietly moved closer together as they advanced, thus forming a formation of more than a dozen regiment-level phalanxes.

A long snake formation was steadily advancing towards the Tsarist Russian army.

The distance is getting closer and closer, and we are already within 500 yards.

From here, one can faintly hear the roaring and tsunami-like shouts of killing coming from the north, mixed with the sounds of gunfire and gunfire. It is obvious that the battle ahead is in full swing.

In order to firmly attract the main force of the Tsarist Russian army, the French army, which was responsible for the main attack, also showed its special skills. After the fierce bombardment, the soldiers carried Mini rifles and steadily advanced, hitting a target more than 400 yards away from the Russian army.

Round after round of firing, they put on a fierce attack posture.

The distance of more than 400 yards was beyond the range of the old-fashioned muskets equipped by the Russian army. Therefore, the Russian soldiers on the front line were suppressed by the powerful firepower of the French and could not raise their heads. Many soldiers were shot to the ground.

Not to be outdone, the Russian artillery fired fiercely at the French array, which also brought a bloody storm to the French soldiers. Both sides of the battlefield fought back and forth, and the scene was quite fierce.

The effective range of the Colt 1848 repeating rifle equipped by the soldiers of the Expeditionary Force of the Tang Kingdom is 300~350 yards, which is slightly inferior to the 500-yard range of the Mini rifle. However, the firepower and shooting continuity of the rifle crush the Mini rifle.

, both sides have their own strengths.

The front-loading smoothbore flintlock rifles equipped by the Russian army use 50-gram cone-shaped heavy bullets. Although they are highly damaging, their shooting accuracy is poor and their range is greatly reduced. The actual striking distance does not exceed 200 yards, which belongs to the early 19th century.

Old weapon level.

When the expeditionary army column approached within 300 yards, Major General Duan Debiao suppressed his inner ecstasy, stopped the officers' impulse to attack, and led the army to continue to approach.

250 yards...220 yards...180 yards...

Until then

Several Tsarist Russian officers turned around and spotted the approaching Datang Kingdom military columns. The visibility was low on the smoke-filled battlefield. After carefully identifying them, they were shocked and shouted loudly.

More Russian soldiers turned around and looked at the soldiers of the expeditionary force who were approaching about 150 yards away with surprised eyes. Some of them couldn't help shouting, while others turned around and ran away in fear.

The originally orderly formation of the Tsarist Russian army became agitated...

Such a close distance

The Russian soldiers could already clearly see the unfamiliar military uniforms worn by the soldiers of the expeditionary force, and the Chinese character "Tang" written in capital letters on the high-flying flags. Although they could not see their specific faces, they were definitely not the Russian army.

The rest of the answer is ready to come out.

No one knows when the Tang Kingdom's expeditionary force will appear behind the Russian army like divine soldiers descending from heaven.

After realizing this

There was obvious panic among the Russian army, and a small number of Russian soldiers even turned their guns and fired bullets at the slowly approaching Datang Kingdom expeditionary army.

The sporadic gunfire did not affect the commander, Major General Duan Debiao. A cruel smile appeared on his face. When the soldiers of the expeditionary force approached a distance of about 120 yards from the Russian column, he raised the command knife in his hand and issued a stop signal.

Order.

"Hold the gun straight, fire freely, fire!"