Wild North America 1846

Chapter 644 Recovering the Ili Valley

Author: Portuguese toothless

Chapter 644 Recovering the Ili Valley

If we want to put an end to the chaos in Xinjiang, we must first capture Urumqi and then Kashgar. Only then can we proceed slowly and urgently to achieve great success.

These were the words of Zuo Zongtang, the imperial envoy minister, when he carried the coffin and went out to war. This is exactly what his army did. In the two-year battle to quell the rebellion, they tempered their combat effectiveness and became stronger and stronger as they fought.

Today's 26,000 Hunan Army is the most well-equipped force in China with muskets. It is generally equipped with Western-style firearms, mainly Mini rifles, and its equipment is relatively advanced.

The Mini rifle is front-loaded, has a slow rate of fire, and has a low firepower density. It has lagged behind the world's advanced rifles, but it is still a relatively advanced weapon in front of the Chinese and Tsarist Russian armies.

Mini rifles have long range, high accuracy, and the toxicity of lead bullets. The Xi'an Machinery Bureau and Lanzhou Manufacturing Bureau can mass-produce Mini rifles to meet the needs of the army.

The Qing Dynasty's Eight Banners Army and Green Camp Army were rotten and completely unable to compete with Western armies.

But Zuo Zongtang's Hunan Army was a typical militia, trained and built by Zuo Zongtang. In the decades of war to annihilate the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Shaanxi-Gansu Rebellion, and in the war to recover Xinjiang, it had proven its strong strength.

The reason why Zuo Zongtang dared to go to war against the Russians in the Ili Valley was that this long-tempered army was not inferior to any Western army in combat effectiveness.

At the beginning of entering the river

The imperial court prepared an army of about 80,000 people. After careful selection, the imperial minister Zuo Zongtang only led less than 30,000 people into the river. The most famous among them were Zuo Zongtang's Hunan Army and Zhang Yao's Song Army.

The Wu army and Xu Zhanbiao's Shu army were the main forces in the expedition.

Part of the reason for this is that the troops are better and not more numerous, and part of the reason is because of the lack of military expenditures and the inability to afford more troops to enter the river to fight, so it is a last resort.

In January 1876, when the war was about to begin, the provinces still owed more than 20 million taels of military expenses to Shaanxi and Gansu, and relying solely on the payment of funds from the various provinces was far from enough to meet the needs of the Western Expedition.

Zuo Zongtang then wrote to the court, citing Shen Baozhen's old practice of borrowing money for Taiwan's defense, and requested a foreign loan of 10 million taels.

Unexpectedly, he was strongly opposed by Shen Baozhen, the then governor of Liangjiang. After several twists and turns, the Qing government finally issued an edict, ordering the Ministry of Household Affairs to allocate 2 million taels, all provinces to pay 3 million taels, and Zuo Zongtang was allowed to borrow 5 million taels from foreign money.

However, raising military pay was still insufficient. Zuo Zongtang later raised foreign funds for the Western Expedition Army twice, borrowing a total of 13.75 million taels from foreign merchants and another 8.46 million taels from Chinese merchants.

Coupled with the huge profits Hu Guangyong had made over the years as the exclusive agent for importing kerosene in Shaanxi, Gansu and Guangdong and Guangxi, Zuo Zongtang did not hesitate to use 4.5 million taels to subsidize military expenditures.

Using his own money to supplement the military salary gap is a rare move in the world. This is the most admirable thing about Zuo Zongtang.

After some difficult operations, the army entering the Yangtze River was able to have sufficient weapons and ammunition and worry-free logistics, and successfully eliminated the Aguba rebel forces in Nanjiang and Beijiang.

nowadays

Zuo Zongtang's army took control of Kashgar and Urumqi. Everything was ready. After negotiating with Liu Jintang, he immediately sent out troops. The troops were divided into two groups and marched towards the Ili Valley regardless of the severe cold.

On October 29, 1877, Nanlu, led by Zhang Yao, commander of the forward troops of the Western Expeditionary Army, with a total of more than 7,800 people, including 2,000 cavalry, set out from Kashgar in Nanjiang, aiming directly at the Ili Valley.

On the northern route, Zuo Zongtang personally led an army of more than 9,500 people, including 3,300 Mongolian cavalry, and headed west from Urumqi, aiming directly at the Ili River Valley.

After a long journey of more than 20 days, two anti-rebellion armies successively entered the so-called "Zhedeshar Khanate" established with the support of Tsarist Russia, shocking the Russians.

The Western Expedition army has always had the tradition of "taking no prisoners". This time it targeted the people who followed the rebellion of Tsarist Russia, and their men were even more merciless. They killed hundreds of people along the way, staining the Western Region with blood.

In just 9 days, the two armies, one from the south and the other from the north, were like thunder and thunder. They successively recaptured 7 towns and killed countless enemies. The two armies joined forces and headed straight for Ili City.

Ili City is located in the Ili Valley in the north of the Tianshan Mountains in the west of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is an ancient city with a population of about 72,000 people. It is also the largest city in the Ili Valley with a total area of ​​268,000 square kilometers. The "Zhedeshar Khanate" and

The home base of Tsarist Russia's invading army.

The Yili area plus the 440,000 square kilometers of land in the outer northwest (which were ceded by Russia in the original history) totaled more than 700,000 square kilometers, which was the territory that Tsarist Russia wanted to occupy.

December 2, 1877

More than ten kilometers outside the city

On the endless yellow prairie in the cold winter, the Russian army and the Qing army formed two separate formations, preparing for a final desperate struggle to determine the final winner.

There were 14,200 Qing troops facing both sides. Except for some troops who stayed in the rear, most of the elites gathered here to start a desperate battle with the Russians.

The Russian army on the opposite side was about 10,000 men, plus the nearly 20,000 troops of the Zhedeshar Khanate, the total army was about 30,000, which was fully double the number of the Qing army.

However, the weapons and equipment of the Russian army are far behind. Less than 70% of the troops are equipped with firearms. Less than 20% of the troops of the Zhedeshar Khanate are equipped with firearms. The rest are still equipped with cold weapons such as swords, guns, and axes.

The colors of their army uniforms are even more varied, and from a distance they look like a large group of beggars.

The poor equipment of the Russian army is nothing new. Among the major powers in the world, the Russian army is the worst equipped. It is still equipped with a large number of old-fashioned flintlock muskets, even the Ottoman Empire cannot compare.

Compared with the elite European troops of the Russian army fighting in the Balkans, the equipment of the Tsarist Russian Central Asian army that invaded the Ili Valley was worse, and even the uniforms were not uniform.

However, the Russian army is famous far and wide for its ferocity and skill in fighting, and it has exerted great power in Central Asia.

In the past 20 years, the Russian army has successively eliminated the three major khanates in Central Asia, led by the Kokand Khanate, and seized nearly 4 million square kilometers of land.

Therefore, although the Russian army's equipment was poor, its morale was very high. It was arrogant and did not take the Qing army into consideration, and was determined to teach Zuo Zongtang's troops a lesson.

One side of the Qing army's formation

Zuo Zongtang was riding on a horse in full armor, with his gray beard dancing in the cold wind, and his deep eyes with a firm expression. On his left and right were armored generals who were guarding him, all of them with solemn expressions.

Earlier, the elimination of the Zhedeshar Khanate's armed forces was like chopping melons and vegetables, but now the enemy army in front of them is different. This is the main force of the Russian army's invasion of Xinjiang, all gathered here.

For today's life-and-death battle, Zuo Zongtang's troops have taken out all the heavy machine guns and artillery that have been treasured for a long time.

The heavy machine guns were hidden behind the queue of soldiers, and the artillery was divided into two artillery positions on the left and right. The black muzzles pointed straight ahead, ready to fire at any time.

The Qing army adopted a preemptive strategy, so they lined up and waited for the Russian army to attack.

The cold wind howled on the withered yellow prairie, and many soldiers' faces turned blue from the cold, but they still stood firmly in formation.

This is a strong army that has experienced wars for a long time. Many of the soldiers are over 40 years old and have been fighting for almost half their lives. They have traveled all over China from south to north and then to the west.

On the other hand, looking at the Russian side

The Russian army also gathered more than 50 artillery pieces, but they were all old-fashioned bronze cannons with short range and low power. They were just used for appearance.

It didn't take long for the battle to begin.

The Russian army took the lead in firing artillery, and the Qing army responded with more violent and deadly artillery fire. After more than half an hour of "rumbling" artillery bombardment, most of the Russian army's artillery was destroyed, and its personnel also suffered considerable losses.

This made the Russian army lose their composure, and ordered the army to attack and advance, braving artillery fire and slowly approaching, seeing that the decisive battle was imminent.

at this time

A group of Cossack cavalry, about 4,000 in total, emerged from the diagonal stab. They waved the shining scimitars in their hands and charged forward towards the Qing army's flank position.

This is a trick used by the Russian army, using elite cavalry to attack the flanks of the formation, disrupting the formation and ultimately defeating the enemy.

See this scene

The Qing cavalry on the left flank did not fight, but turned their horses and dispersed, revealing the heavy machine gun position behind them that had already been prepared.

It turned out that Zuo Zongtang had already arranged 16 Maxim heavy machine guns on the left and right sides, and 8 heavy machine guns on one side, just to prevent the Russian cavalry from attacking.

Shuoshuo trembled when he saw the Cossack cavalry waving scimitars and shouting fiercely as they charged forward. Thousands of horses trampled the grassland, shaking the ground. The power was astonishing.

The cavalry came very quickly. They started to attack at a higher speed from more than 800 yards away. In a short time, they were within 300 yards. This is the most effective killing range of heavy machine guns.

"Fire!"

Give an order

Eight heavy machine guns and thousands of infantry platoons on the left flank opened fire one after another, weaving a dense fire net that enveloped the bravely charging Cossack cavalry.

in an instant

The charging cavalry formation flipped over, blood splattered, and the cavalrymen were instantly torn apart in the fire net compiled by heavy machine guns. Their bones were broken and their tendons were broken. They fell off their horses with screams and screams.

The cavalry and war horses that fell to the ground stirred up large amounts of smoke and dust, like a sandstorm rising from the ground, obscuring people's sight.

All that could be heard was the ruthless roar of heavy machine guns, the continuous and steady output of crazy firepower that deprived people of lives, the men and horses being mopped down in the sand and dust like rice being cut, and the screams and screams kept coming.

"Cease fire, cease fire, stop it quickly..." The Qing commander rushed forward angrily, grabbed the heavy machine gunner and ordered a cease fire.

Just such a short time

There was already a pile of empty long magazines. The hand-cranked heavy machine gun could discharge 400 to 500 rounds of ammunition per minute. In just a short time, the eight heavy machine guns had already fired tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition.

This made the Qing commander's distressed face twitch, and he kept shouting "Prodigal things, a bunch of prodigal things", and then he raised his head and looked around.

The strong cold wind had blown away the sand and dust, and what was displayed in front of people was a bloody massacre-like scene. Few of the more than 4,000 attacking Cossack cavalry escaped alive, and almost all fell to the gunpoint.

Large amounts of blood dyed the wasteland red, and such heavy losses made the Russian army go crazy. They ordered a full-scale charge regardless of the cost, trying to hit the Qing army's main line and recover the losses.

The war begins

When the two sides approached within a distance of more than 200 yards, they each fired a round of volleys. Many soldiers on both sides were shot and fell to the ground. The battle entered the most bloody and cruel stage.

Under the Russian army's relentless attacks, the Qing army's originally neat formation also became uneven. The soldiers in the back row immediately stepped in and fought the enemy to the end with gritted teeth.

Bursts of gunfire were fired one after another, and the heavy machine guns on both sides also joined the battle, setting off waves of bloodshed in the dense formation of the enemy, making the battle particularly bloody.

After more than 40 minutes of fierce fighting, the Russian army suffered heavy casualties and finally could no longer hold on and began to retreat step by step, preparing to retreat.

Seeing that the opportunity for complete victory was right in front of him, General Zuo Zongtang, who had a solemn face, finally relaxed. With a decisive wave of his hand, he ordered to "pursue the victory and attack the entire front."

from this moment on

The Russian army was completely defeated. They turned around and ran away regardless, hoping to escape from this damn hell and stay away from these murderous Qing troops.

At this time, the Mongolian cavalry of the Qing army began to chase in all directions, cutting down the enemies who were running all over the mountains and plains one by one...

night time

Old General Zuo Zongtang, who successfully recaptured Ili, laughed out loud at the sight of people crying all over the city. His expression was filled with relief, immense satisfaction and pride. He finally realized his long-cherished wish to regain the mountains and rivers, and died without regrets.

.

Kill them, burn them, "the Qing troops will enter the river without leaving any prisoners alive", they will all be killed.

This seemingly cruel policy actually ensured that the northwest would remain stable for more than 150 years and ensured the integrity and unity of the Chinese territory.

The complete victory in the Battle of Ili not only recovered 268,000 square kilometers of territory in the entire Ili Valley area, but also recovered 440,000 square kilometers of northwest Ili territory (note: it was originally split from Tsarist Russia in history). It can be said to be a great achievement!

After this battle

There is no longer an organized Tsarist Russian armed force in the area. General Zuo Zongtang plans to dispatch more than 3,000 cavalry troops to sweep away the remnants of the surrounding bandits in several groups and completely stabilize the situation in the region.

In order to maintain long-term peace and stability in the Western Region, Zuo Zongtang has prepared to implement military garrison and gradually mobilized some troops with weak combat effectiveness in the pass to the river to realize large-scale military garrison to stabilize the situation on the border.

In addition, heavy troops were stationed at the important Alashankou to ensure the stability of the entire Yangtze River and prevent the Tsarist Russian army from crossing the natural dangers here and once again encroaching on the Xinjiang River.

In order to maintain the integrity and unity of the country, Zuo Zongtang worked hard, but he knew that this was not necessarily a good thing.

Completely defeating the forces of Tsarist Russia and regaining all of Xinjiang is tantamount to a slap in the face of Li Hongzhang, who advocated abandoning Xinjiang. How could he give up?

The affairs of the Qing Dynasty have never been external troubles but internal worries. Now Li Hongzhang and his family have been reused by the court and advocated building a powerful naval fleet to defend the sea.

The dispute between fortress defense and coastal defense arose from this. Zuo Zhongtang was the main minister who advocated "fortress defense". The main dispute between the two sides was military expenditure. The court had no money.

Regardless of whether they are fortress defense or coastal defense, what they are fighting for is money and power. It is destined that the two will not urinate in the same pot.

Behind the glorious victory, he may face criticism from the imperial court's old enemies. At this time, Zuo Zongtang's face was full of pride, and he looked even more determined under the light of the fire.

His long-cherished wish to regain the mountains and rivers has been fulfilled, and personal honor and disgrace have long been forgotten in his heart.

As long as they are stationed in Xinjiang for one day, the invading forces of Tsarist Russia cannot take a step beyond their reach.

(End of chapter)