Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 412: Rescue failed!

Prince Menshikov knew that the arms purchased by Britain and France from the East would probably arrive earlier than those from Tsarist Russia, but he did not expect it to arrive so much earlier.

My heart became quite solemn!
After a moment's hesitation, Prince Menshikov made another decision.

"Sadexun, you must lead your men to attack the southern valley again immediately."

"The rest of you, prepare to stay where you are, occupy the commanding heights, and deploy artillery positions..."

Menshikov made a quick decision. Regardless of whether the Cossacks could break through the Allied blockade, he was ready to defend Vorontsov Avenue.

Although holding on to Vorontsov Boulevard would not pose as much of a threat to the Allied forces as directly capturing Balaklava.

However, if he could lead his troops to cut off the Vorontsov Road, then he would still be able to greatly alleviate the pressure on the Sevastopol direction.

In this way, the siege of Sevastopol can be lifted!
Upon hearing this, Sadexun clasped his fists and left, once again leading the Cossack cavalry in a death charge towards the coalition's valley defense line.

At the same time, Prince Menshikov began to set up military camps in preparation for meeting the coalition forces coming from the rear.

The Cossacks once again rushed towards the valley defense line, and were unsurprisingly defeated.

But on the other side, the coalition cavalry also entered.

Under the command of Lord Raglan, the Allied cavalry launched a charge towards the unstable Russian army.

But the results were equally unsatisfactory.

The coalition cavalry charged several times, but were each repelled by the gray beasts' counterattacks.

Those gray beasts were really tough. With bayonets in hand, they dared to launch a counterattack against the Allied cavalry.

Soon, the battle of Balaklava ended, and the British and French forces successfully thwarted the Tsarist Russia's plan to attack Balaklava and involve the coalition forces in the direction of Sevastopol.

Moreover, the Allied commander, Baron Raglan, was aware of Prince Menshikov's plan to cut off the Vorontsov Road in order to share the serious situation facing Sevastopol.

He did not fall for it and storm the Russian army's camp, but instead ordered the coalition forces to launch another offensive towards Sevastopol.

Sevastopol was in danger, and Prince Menshikov had no choice but to order his army to launch an attack on the coalition forces besieging Sevastopol.

Subsequently, the Allied Forces and the Tsarist Russian Army once again engaged in fierce fighting in the Inkerman Bridge area.

Prince Menshikov gave an order to split the Russian army into two groups.

Along the way, General Soimonov led 1.9 men and 38 artillery pieces and was ordered to attack southeast along the southwestern slope of the Kirun Valley.

The other route was led by General Pavlov, who led 1.6 men and 96 artillery pieces and was ordered to attack southwards via the Inkerman Bridge.

General Gorchakov led a reserve force of about 2.3 people and was ordered to launch an auxiliary assault on the rear of the Allied forces along the Sapun Mountains.

Fierce fighting breaks out again!
At the same time, Menshikov also ordered the defense forces of Transsevastopol, ordering General Timofeev to lead the defense forces to attack from Sevastopol and cooperate with reinforcements to attack the main force of the coalition forces outside Sevastopol.

Since the plan to raid Balaklava and use it to break the siege of Sevastopol has failed, the only option Menshikov can do now is to fight a decisive battle with the Allied forces in Sevastopol.

……

In the evening, the sun sets.

The sound of gunfire that had lasted all day became sparse.

Menshikov stood on a high ground and looked towards the battlefield.

Looking at the densely packed corpses of Russian soldiers lying on the battlefield, his hand holding the telescope began to tremble uncontrollably.

That's horrible!
It’s so miserable!

The Russian army organized its forces several times and launched attacks on the coalition positions, but failed to achieve any results.

Every time the sound of machine gun fire was heard, soldiers on the battlefield fell to the ground one after another.

Under the suppression of machine gun fire, no matter how brave the Russian soldiers were, they were unable to charge into the coalition positions.

Menshikov knew that his rescue had failed and Sevastopol was finished!

"Your Excellency, please give the order."

"Let's fight again. This time, let my reserve team take over. We will definitely be able to break through the enemy's defense line."

General Gorchakov, who led the reserve troops, came before Prince Menshikov and volunteered to fight.

Prince Menshikov put down the telescope in his hand and smiled bitterly.

"No need, our army failed to rescue the siege."

"Sevastopol is lost. Let's retreat. There's no need to fight any further."

Gorchakov asked with a pale face after hearing this.

"Your Excellency, what should we do next?"

Hearing this, Menshikov took a deep breath and spoke as if he had made a difficult decision.

"Let's retreat first, retreat to Kerch and hold our ground, waiting for His Majesty the Tsar to send reinforcements again."

The siege failed and the loss of Sevastopol was an established fact.

What Menshikov needs to consider now is more about how to preserve his strength.

In his opinion, the reason why the Russian offensive failed was because the British and French forces obtained new weapons from the East.

If it weren't for those rotary machine guns and breech-loading rifles, Menshikov believed that the brave soldiers of His Majesty the Tsar would have successfully torn through the Allied defenses.

In that case, he should retreat first.

When the new weapons purchased by Tsarist Russia from the Tang Dynasty arrive, we will have another fight!
The reason for withdrawing to Kerch was that Kerch was an important logistics base for Tsarist Russia to supply Crimea.

If Menshikov wants to launch a counterattack in Crimea in the future, Kerch must be defended.

If Kerch is lost, then all of Crimea will be lost.

Upon hearing this, Gorchakov nodded in agreement.

As the military order was issued, the defeated Russian army began to retreat eastward.

Along the way, everyone was dejected, and many soldiers were still wrapped in blood-stained gauze. The atmosphere of defeated soldiers spread among the army. Prince Menshikov rode on horseback, looking at the dejected soldiers around him, and he sighed helplessly.

Then he began to read the military reports of this battle.

Looking at the shocking figures in the military newspaper, Menshikov felt as if his heart was being gripped and he could hardly breathe.

In today's battle, the Russian army suffered 15438 casualties, including more than 4500 deaths and more than injuries.

Moreover, it is still unknown how many of the more than 10,300 injured soldiers will survive.

What about the casualties of the British and French forces?
I’m afraid they don’t even have a fraction of the Russian army!
Even though Tsarist Russia had no shortage of gray livestock, it could not withstand such a loss!

……

Allied camp!

Inside Baron Raglan's military tent.

Raglan, Carloporte and others are celebrating today's victory.

Today's resounding victory has swept away the frustration among the coalition forces caused by the long-term failure to capture Sevastopol.

Everyone knew that after this victory, it wouldn’t take long for them to capture Sevastopol.

Liu Fusheng and others were also invited to attend the celebration banquet.

After the banquet, Liu Fusheng returned to his military tent and began to organize his diary.

They were ordered to come to Crimea, not only to provide after-sales service for the arms business, but also to find out the new tactics, new strategies, and new technologies used by European powers in the war, compile these things into a book, and then report back to the Tang Dynasty.

In today's war, Liu Fusheng discovered something strange among the coalition forces.

That is, the coalition forces' military orders were transmitted very quickly, and there was no delay in communication between the various departments.

Liu Fusheng inquired for a long time and finally found out some clues.

During this war, the British and French powers actually used wired telegraphs on the battlefield for short-distance messaging and conveying orders.

This is a method of applying the telegraph that the Tang Dynasty had not yet thought of.

Liu Fusheng felt that this matter needed special attention, and he would report it to the court after returning to the Tang Dynasty.

……

St. Petersburg!

Winter Palace!

Crown Prince Alexander got off his carriage outside the Winter Palace with a heavy heart.

Then, he walked towards the palace.

On both sides of the road, soldiers of the Tsar's Guards saluted the Crown Prince.

Soon, Alexander arrived outside his father's study.

Raise your hand and knock gently on the door.

Boom!dong dong!

After a few knocks on the door, a greeting came from the study.

"Is that Alexander? Come in!"

Hearing this, Alexander pushed the door open and walked in.

"Father, is there anything you want to ask me?"

Nicholas I waved his hand, motioning Alexander to come forward.

Alexander walked up to Nicholas I's table. Nicholas I reached out and held his son's hand, then spoke.

"Alexander, my son."

"I swear to God, I wanted to take on the most difficult and heaviest burden and hand you over a peaceful, well-organized, and happy country, but God made another plan."

"Austria and Prussia are two despicable countries. The great Russian Empire has been shamefully betrayed!"

As he spoke, Nicholas I's face turned visibly paler and his lips began to turn blue.

There is blood flowing from the corner of his mouth!

When Alexander saw this, his pupils suddenly trembled.

"Father, you...what's wrong with you?"

Nicholas took his last breath and spoke in a weak voice.

"We just received news of a defeat in Crimea."

"Menshikov's army failed to rescue Sevastopol. Sevastopol is going to be lost, and Crimea is going to be destroyed."

"It's time to end the war in Crimea!"

"Let my death put an end to the Crimean War..."

Alexander heard this and said with a noticeable tremor in his voice.

"Father, it's not going to be this way, it's not going to be this way!"

"Although Menshikov was defeated, it was only because the new weapons purchased by Britain and France from the East arrived and caught Menshikov off guard."

"And now, the new weapons that our Russian Empire purchased from the East are on the way and will arrive at the front line in a short time."

"By then, we may not necessarily lose!"

Alexander did not think that the situation in Crimea was truly irreversible.

(End of this chapter)