Chapter 188 - One Hundred Eighty-Two: Encountering an Ambush

Chapter 188: Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Two: Encountering an Ambush

April 13th, 1904, Major General Makarov’s 36th day as the commander of the Pacific Squadron.

In this month, Major General Makarov had managed the Pacific Squadron well, carrying out numerous mine-laying missions, effectively blocking the Island Nation’s transportation lines to the Korean Peninsula and the Far East, and reducing the pressure on the main force of the Pacific Squadron stationed at Port Arthur.

This day was an ordinary day for the Pacific Squadron. Under Major General Makarov’s command, two cruisers set out from Port Arthur Port to harass the transportation lines of the Island Nation; after laying mines in a designated area, they successfully returned to Port Arthur.

This pleased General Makarov because the minefield laid by the two cruisers was exactly where he planned to engage in a decisive battle with the Island Royal Navy.

By arranging the mines in advance, the Pacific Squadron might be able to use them to give the Island Nation a taste of their own medicine during a decisive naval battle.

Just as General Makarov was about to receive a report from the two destroyers, he suddenly received news that several enemy warships were pursuing and attacking the two Russian cruisers. One Russian cruiser had already been damaged and was now in urgent need of support.

As a famous naval commander of the Russian Empire, Major General Makarov naturally had a temper, otherwise, he would not have directly criticized the Navy officials.

Under General Makarov’s order, he personally led two battleships and four cruisers to provide assistance.

As General Makarov was about to board the Battleship Peter Pavlovskiy, he suddenly had a thought. He instructed Lieutenant General Witteveen, the fleet’s chief of staff, to lead the vanguard, while he himself convened the main force of the Pacific Squadron stationed at Port Arthur, in case the Island Nation’s main fleet was lurking in the rear.

Since most of the preparations had already been made, General Makarov was not averse to engaging in a decisive battle with the Island Royal Navy now.

In this month, the Pacific Squadron had laid at least ten minefields, which would become an ideal place for the Island Nation and the United Fleet to perish.

It is worth noting that, after General Makarov, Lieutenant General Witteveen was to become the new fleet commander of the Pacific Squadron.

Yet now, the fleeing Island Nation fleet had maintained a delicate balance with the Russian vanguard. They were neither too close to fall within the attack range of the Pacific Squadron nor too far away for the Pacific Squadron to lose sight of their target and give up the pursuit.

All signs pointed that this pursuit seemed more like luring snakes out of their holes. General Witteveen had originally thought he was the hunter, but now this might not be the case.

“How long has it been since we set out from Port Arthur?” General Witteveen asked grimly.

“It’s been just over an hour, General,” one of his subordinates replied.

General Witteveen had a bad feeling. Judging by the normal speed of the fleet, the main force should not have been too slow and might have even caught up with the vanguard by now.

After all, the previous naval battle had also taken up a lot of time, which would have been enough for the main force to catch up.

“Turn around immediately and return to Port Arthur. The enemy may have set an ambush ahead, and this is a trap!” General Witteveen made the prompt decision.

In the previous sneak attack by the Island Nation, two battleships of the Pacific Squadron, the Crown Prince and Pervest, had been damaged.

If the two battleships led by General Witteveen were ambushed and suffered any damage, the number of battleships that the Pacific Squadron could deploy would be reduced to four. They would have no advantage, and even have a huge disadvantage, against the Island Royal Navy.

The Pacific Squadron could not afford such a loss. Once they lose their few naval advantages, the Russian Empire will become even more vulnerable on land.

Setting aside the issue of weapons and combat power, the Russian Far East forces, with a strength of fewer than 100,000, could not possibly be a match for the Island Naiton.

Most of the Russian Empire’s elite forces were stationed in Europe, with fewer troops and soldiers stationed in the Far East.

Furthermore, the Siberian Railway had not yet opened completely. The Russian Empire would bear a logistical cost several times higher than the Island Nation for any losses in the Far East.