Chapter 104： In the far east

There is absolutely a reason Ruprecht decided to drag the Russians for another month! It is now March 1895! The Japanese army is also ready. Because the navy has been hit hard, the Japanese army’s offensive has also been affected. Historically, the Japanese who broke through the Yalu River defense line in 1894 can only spend the winter in North Korea and change with the weather. Warm, the Japanese finally want to attack the Yalu River defense line! And it's time for mercenaries composed of Russian and Bavarian armies!

At this moment, Baron Schmidt, the front-line commander of the Blue Army (von Carlipt sitting behind.) was eating steamed buns on the north bank of a boundary river called the Yalu River, eating something similar to the chaotic stew of the northeast of later generations,... ... No way, in order to ensure the supply of ammunition and concentrate for the horses, the Blue Legion can only wrong the stomachs of officers and soldiers. Ammunition is absolutely necessary. The stomachs of horses are more delicate than humans. Don’t think the Far East is still a few months old. , Whether it is a small number of horses brought by the Germans or part of the horses provided by the Russians, they are not very cold with the domestic feed of Qing.... It's okay to mix it with food. If you only use local feed, some horses immediately said that they would not do it!

"Our biggest enemy is the unfamiliar environment here, and it is not the Japanese. The attrition caused by the inadequacy of the soil and water in this battle is more than the number of crews caused by the Japanese guns! The only thing that can comfort us is The food here is still good. The Qing people provided plenty of meat, and even some of them are unique to us. They are unique animals here. For example, the Siberian tiger.” After the war, Viscount Schmidt wrote in his memoirs. Wrote in!

Mr. Baron has been a bitter in the past few months, but he still thanked him for letting them come to the northeast of the Qing country in advance, at least here they are familiar with the battlefield. Although hundreds of people were forced to withdraw from combat due to frostbite or other reasons in a few months, the subsequent addition of troops from the country not only made up for the reduction, but also increased the number of troops to 2500! As the weather gradually warmed, the Japanese on the south bank of the Yalu River were finally ready to move!

"All the Qing troops are unreliable, even the Russians are not so reliable. The Qing troops are only suitable for transporting supplies behind, and the Russians can be used as an auxiliary force at most." Viscount Schmidt told Marken, the representative of the Prussian detachment. Major Mori said. Needless to say, the Qing army, most of the elite of Beiyang were in North Korea, and the remaining morale was also very low. As for the quality of the commander? Viscount Schmidt does not deny that some of them have some talents, such as Nie Shicheng, who is now in charge of logistics for his troops. But they lack an understanding of the current war, and there are problems everywhere from command to combat.

"Aren't the Russians okay? Their soldiers are the best soldiers, tough and tenacious. And the Cossack cavalry, they are very capable of small-scale combat." Mackensen came later and knew more about the Russian army. Most of them remain at the level of the war against Crimea.

"But their soldiers lack a kind of flexibility. Without the command of the commander, they can't do anything! They are like machines, not so tough and tenacious, but numb! The Cossack cavalry is closer to the bandits and fought with the wind. Yes, once you encounter setbacks, it's easy to happen! What's more, there is no basic trust between us." Viscount Schmidt said with some worry.

After several months of exchanges, Schmidt can be regarded as having a deeper understanding of the situation of the Russian army. The quality of Russian officers is poor and their actions tend to be conservative. Although soldiers are obedient, they are only obedient. It is really hard to tell how much combat effectiveness a soldier without subjective initiative can exert in a chaotic battle.

As for the Cossack cavalry, this thing gave Schmidt the feeling that robbery, raid, aggression is like fire, and when he encounters a strong enemy, he turns into the wind! The Cossack cavalry is not just the main thing in history! And now the times have changed. Under the attack of various rifles and artillery, how much effect the cavalry can have is really hard to say. In Schmidt's look, the ultimate result of the future cavalry is to become a mounted infantry...

"So you rejected the suggestion of letting the Blue Legion defend the Yalu River, but deployed behind it to prevent yourself from being surrounded?" Mackensen said thoughtfully. Song Qing, one of the commanders of the Qing Dynasty, wanted Viscount Schmidt to guard the Yalu River, but this proposal was flatly rejected by the latter. And now, Mackenson can be considered to understand the underlying reason.

The defense of the Qing army is a simple line of defense. There is not enough depth. As long as it breaks a little, there is not enough reserve team. Although its own unit has a large number of horses, it has a lot of automatic weapons, as well as a lot of ammunition and baggage. If Wan's flanking friendly army is defeated. (In Schmidt's opinion, this is almost certain) Then people who are less than 2500 are very likely to be surrounded!

You have only 2500 people in total. If you are really trapped, how do you run? A full fight is not more than a dozen artillery pieces (counted as mortars), even if they can fight face-to-face, they can't stop the Japanese army coming like a tide! As the first Bavarian officer who came into contact with rapid-fire guns and machine guns, Schmidt had a very clear understanding of these two weapons. Although rapid-fire weapons can greatly optimize the advantages of defense forces, they have limited range and lack sufficient firepower. In this era, under the cover of firepower, it is still possible to use a sea of ​​people to rush down. So Schmidt meant fighting on the outside, not head-on with the Japanese army.

Therefore, Schmidt’s Blue Army was finally deployed on the second line. Based on the idea of ​​fighting if possible, and leaving, in Schmidt's plan, the Yalu River defense line could not be defended. According to the Japanese forces and strategic needs, their first attack target will be the Liaodong Peninsula, where there is the base of the Beiyang Fleet and the Japanese forces cannot go straight to the northeast. Therefore, after the first battle with the Japanese on the Yalu River, the Blue Army will retreat to the direction of Liaoyang, and then rely on Liaoyang's supplies to fight a limited battle with the opponent!

"Why don't we launch a limited offensive? If your estimate is correct, we should be right on the flanks of the Japanese army. Their fragile transportation lines and rear troops are exposed to us and give play to the Russian cavalry advantage. , We can completely hit the opponent." Mackensen said thoughtfully. He was bolder and more radical than Baron Schmidt's plan!

"That's a matter for the Russians. Our troops are not suitable. It is unrealistic for a unit with a large number of heavy weapons and ammunition to attack at a high speed. When the opponent has the firepower advantage, the cavalry may not have the advantage to attack the infantry. This phenomenon had already appeared during the Napoleonic period. The key to our victory in the Franco-Prussian War was artillery and infantry, not highly mobile cavalry." Schmidt opposed this plan.

"Mr. Major, this opportunity is rare. We must at least experiment with this tactic. It may be the key to victory in our future wars! Rely on fast troops and carry a small number of high-performance weapons to quickly attack key nodes that defeat the opponent, and then take advantage of the trend. Secure the victory! The empire cannot continue the war, and the clean solution to the opponent is the key. Do you know what I mean?" Mackensen said sincerely.

"So you treat this war as an experiment, and my soldiers are your test subjects? Is that true?" Schmidt's face was a little cloudy and his tone was a little cold, as if trying to suppress his anger.

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