Chapter 64: Towards the fortress...

As of September 8, 1903, the coalition forces responsible for attacking the Vladivostok Fortress Group were determined to be:

Third Army: Commander Lieutenant General Chen Xingyun, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Zhao Minhe;

Jurisdiction

11th Infantry Division (34,000 men),

13th Infantry Division (34,000 men),

5th Cavalry Brigade (6,500 men),

Independent Fourth Artillery Brigade (5,600 men),

Prepare the 34th Infantry Division (34,000 men);

Departure area - southward from Xingkai Lake to Suifen River;

North Korean First Army: Commander, General Kim Yong-nyeong, Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Qingtian Congjiang

Jurisdiction

Korean Imperial Guard Division (34,000 men),

North Korean 1st Infantry Division (32,000 men),

Japanese 2nd Infantry Division (32,000 men),

North Korean 1st Cavalry Brigade (6,200 men),

North Korea’s 1st Mixed Artillery Brigade (4,500 people),

North Korea's Reserve Sixth Infantry Division (32,000 men);

Departure area - the line from Suifenhe, China to Rajin, North Korea.

There are two corps in total, including 5 infantry divisions, 2 reserve infantry divisions, 2 cavalry brigades, and 2 artillery brigades, with a total of 256,000 people. Although the number is large, the combat effectiveness of each division is not balanced.

The infantry divisions of North Korea and Japan are organized according to China: each squad has 12 soldiers, each platoon has 3 squads, each company has 3 platoons, each battalion has 4 companies, each regiment has 3 battalions, and each brigade has 3 regiments.

The division has 3 brigades. However, in terms of weapons and equipment, it is one level lower than that of the Chinese National Defense Force (except for the Korean Guards Division and the Japanese Guards Division - the weapons and equipment of these two elite divisions are similar to those of the Chinese National Defense Force Infantry Division)

.

Asahi's infantry division artillery regiment has four battalions, all equipped with 75mm field guns, each battalion has 18 guns, and the whole regiment has a total of 72 guns. The artillery regiment of the infantry division of the Chinese National Defense Force is equipped with 36 90mm howitzers and 36 105mm field guns.

New cannon.

Asahi's infantry brigade artillery battalion is only equipped with 18 old-fashioned 75mm mountain guns. The Chinese National Defense Force's infantry brigade artillery is equipped with 18 75mm field guns and 6 100mm heavy mortars.

Asahi's infantry regiment-affiliated artillery company is equipped with six 57mm old-fashioned mountain cannons. The Chinese Army's National Defense Force infantry regiment-affiliated artillery company is equipped with six 57mm mountain cannons and three 80mm mortars.

Asahi's infantry battalion is equipped with a machine gun platoon, equipped with 2 heavy machine guns. The units below the company have no light machine guns and no light mortars. The battalion fire support platoon of the Chinese Defense Force is equipped with 3 60mm mortars and 2 mortars.

Heavy machine guns, each company's machine gun squad is equipped with 2 light machine guns.

The main heavy artillery firepower of the North Korean First Army comes from the North Korean First Mixed Artillery Brigade, which has three regiments. The first regiment is equipped with 9 305mm siege guns provided by China, the second regiment is equipped with 54 150mm old-fashioned howitzers, and the

The third regiment is equipped with 54 75mm field guns.

The independent Fourth Artillery Brigade of the Chinese Third Field Army has one reinforced heavy artillery regiment and two heavy artillery regiments, equipped with 18 305mm siege guns, 54 150mm heavy howitzers, and 54 105mm cannons.

The enemies facing the Chinese Third Field Army and the North Korean First Army are:

The Primorye Naval District is commanded by Far East Governor Alexeyev (Far East Commander-in-Chief Kuropatkin has not yet arrived). Its main forces include:

The First Far East Army, commander Lieutenant General Stessel, chief of staff Major General Kontrachenko, has jurisdiction over the Second and Third Far East Armies and several independent cavalry and artillery units, a total of 4 infantry divisions and 2 cavalry divisions.

, 2 independent artillery brigades and 3 independent cavalry regiments, 109,000 men, 346 field guns and 90 machine guns.

Ussuriysk (Shuangchengzi) fortress garrison: 13,000 people, 36 field guns, 127 fortress guns and 36 machine guns.

Vladivostok fortress garrison: 38,000 men, 72 field guns, 546 fortress guns and 100 machine guns.

A total of 160,000 people, equipped with 442 field guns, 673 fortress guns, and 216 machine guns.

The deployment of the First Russian Far East Army is as follows:

The Third Division of the Second Far East Army is deployed in the vast area on the right bank of the Ussuri River between the Bigin River and Xingkai Lake. Its mission is to prevent the Chinese army from crossing the river in that area and ensure that it maintains close contact with friendly forces in Khabarovsk (khabarovsk).

If the Chinese army cannot be stopped due to lack of transportation and communication, they will retreat to Spaskdalini southeast of Xingkai Lake and wait for reinforcements.

The Fourth Division of the Second Far East Army is deployed on the Sino-Russian border from Xingkai Lake to Suifen River, with villages and towns such as Turigro and Pogranicny as outposts, Horoli, Kopovci, and Pok.

Rovka is a second-line stronghold. Its mission is to block the coalition's attack, wait for the support of reserve forces, and coordinate a counterattack.

The Fifth Division of the Third Far East Army was deployed on the Sino-Russian and Sino-North Korean borders from Suifen River to the mouth of the Tumen River, trying to block the coalition's attack by relying on outposts such as Kraskino and Kolfovka. Its second-line position was in Wusu.

The area on the left bank of the Suifen River from Lisk (Shuangchengzi) to Tavrichanka.

The Sixth Division of the Third Far East Army and three cavalry regiments directly under the group army are stationed in Ussuriysk (Shuangchengzi) as the general reserve, ready to launch counterattacks against the coalition forces at any time.

The 2nd Cavalry Division of the 2nd Far East Army is responsible for supporting the 3rd Division in operations. The 3rd Cavalry Division of the 3rd Far East Army is stationed in Vladivostok (Vladivostok) as a mobile force in case the coalition forces launch a landing from the east of Vladivostok.

Fight to cut off the connection between the e-force field troops and the Vladivostok Fortress.

On the morning of September 9, 1903, there was a tense atmosphere in Suifenhe, a small town on the border between China and Russia.

Suifenhe Town is about 50 to 60 kilometers away from the real "Suifenhe" in a straight line. The town is surrounded by forests to the west and mountains to the east. There is a mountain road that is barely passable for carriages leading to Country E. The town has a population of only a few thousand.

Logging was the main business, and it did not appear to be very prosperous, but the residents were living a stable life. Unexpectedly, all roads were blocked overnight, and tens of thousands of soldiers actually arrived near the town. The residents of the town were ordered not to go out, nor to

Open the window, and there are military police with guns guarding each intersection. Vehicles and horses are constantly coming and going on the streets. Soldiers with guns lined up pass by one after another. This also caused many curious teenagers to hide behind the doors and windows and use the cracks in the doors and windows.

I peeked at those machine guns and cannons I had never seen before.

Lieutenant General Chen Xingyun, commander of the Third Field Army, and Lieutenant General Zhao Minhe, chief of staff, each rode a white horse and hurried through the main street of Suifenhe. However, when they were about to leave the town, they saw a military policeman scolding a teenager.

There was a girl with two slender braids. The girl's face was full of tears and she was carrying a big wooden bucket in both hands. She looked very pitiful.

Chen Xingyun reined in his horse and called to the military policeman: "You, sergeant, what are you doing?"

The military policeman looked back and saw the two golden general stars on Chen Xingyun's shoulders. He hurriedly raised his chest and saluted: "Report to Commander, I am on a mission. This little guy did not listen to the advice and insisted on going out..."

"

"Why did she go out?"

"I just want to fetch water for my father to make medicine. He broke his leg when he went up the mountain to collect medicine yesterday..."

The little girl rushed to answer, and Chen Xingyun smiled at her and nodded.

"So that's it, you go ahead, you just have to come back quickly."

The little girl happily bowed to Chen Xingyun, said "Thank you, uncle", and ran away quickly with the bucket.

Chen Xingyun watched her go away, then turned to the military policeman: "You, sergeant, go help her and carry a full bucket for her!"

"As you command!"

The military policeman saluted and chased the girl with his gun on his back.

"She is a pretty girl."

Next to Chen Xingyun, Lieutenant General Zhao Minhe, Chief of Staff of the Third Field Army, commented.

"Brother Yu Qing, are you interested? Why don't you take her back and raise her somewhere? In a few years, she might become a beautiful little girl who can serve others. How about taking her as a concubine?

Chen Xingyun joked that such ridicule was not unfounded. Zhao Minhe's romantic reputation reached as high as the emperor and spread down to the street corners. He was thirty-five years old and had a wife and six concubines. His wife, Li, was from Pyongyang, North Korea.

There were two concubines from Japan, both brought back from the places where they fought. However, this is not enough. After the Battle of Seoul, Zhao Minhe adopted a ten-year-old orphan girl on the outskirts of Seoul. Six years later, the girl became an adult.

Because of her good looks, Zhao Minhe was immediately taken in as a concubine. When the news spread, it also gave scholars and organizations in the capital that advocated gender equality and monogamy a ready target. After a series of text bombardments, Zhao Minhe became famous.

, Chen Xingyun used this to ridicule Zhao Minhe, but there is evidence to follow.

Zhao Minhe, nicknamed Lanbo, was born in the 92nd class of the Mainland University. He graduated first in the infantry major of the school that year. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1898, he first served as the commander of the first battalion of the famous 1st Imperial Guard "Yunlong" Regiment, and participated in the second neutralization campaign.

At that time, as the vanguard of the entire regiment, he first broke through the defense line of the Japanese Sixth Division. Later, he followed Lu Zixiang's First Brigade and successively fought in Sui'an, Gushan, Yichuan, and Ping'an, cutting off the connection between the Japanese Wonsan Group and the Seoul Group. During the Battle of Seoul,

Zhao Minhe's 1st Battalion still served as the vanguard of the whole regiment, and advanced from Bukhan Mountain in the north of Seoul. It captured 300 Japanese soldiers guarding Bukhan Mountain City, including Qingtian Congjiang, who is currently the chief of staff of the North Korean First Army. Due to Seoul

The defenders quickly collapsed, and the roundabout operations of the Forbidden Regiment had little effect. After this battle, Zhao Minhe was transferred to Ding Jieyun's Japanese Expeditionary Forces commander due to his outstanding performance and a slight conflict with Lei Yuming, the then commander of the regiment.

He served as the liaison officer of the Ministry and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. During the Battle of Akishikawa, Lei Yuming died in battle, and the Forbidden One Regiment had a new commander. At that time, Zhao Minhe did not expect to return to the Forbidden One Regiment. It was not until the Battle of Sekigahara that the Forbidden One Regiment was replaced by a new commander.

The regiment defended Tianmanfeng battlefield, and most of the officers below the regiment commander were killed in the battle. Zhao Minhe, who was sent by Ding Jieyun to convey the order to the forbidden regiment, persuaded the regiment staff Li Xuedong to stay, temporarily acting as the regiment leader, and led the entire regiment to fight to the death with the enemy.

, killing no less than 6,000 enemy troops in front of the battle, the reputation of the Iron Regiment spread like wildfire. After this battle, Zhao Minhe was officially transferred to the commander of the First Ban Regiment, and followed the army to attack the city of Tokyo. After returning home, he walked out during the Grand Parade of the Capital.

At the front of the whole regiment, he took over the battle flag embroidered with the words "Yunlong Regiment" from the emperor. From then on, the Forbidden One Regiment officially adopted the title of "Yunlong Regiment". In the first year of Guangxing, Zhao Minhe was promoted to the commander of the Fifth Forbidden Brigade.

On the morning of May 17, under the orders of Marshal Liu Yun, he attacked the headquarters of the Second Imperial Guard Division on the outskirts of Tianjin and killed the recalcitrant Commander of the Second Imperial Guard Division, Major General He Pengcheng. Soon after, he assumed the position of commander of the Second Imperial Guard Division and passed through the middle period of Mainland China.

After retraining, he began his career and served successively as deputy commander of the infantry corps, chief of staff, corps commander, deputy chief of staff of the military region, chief of staff of the military region, and acting director of the General Staff Training Department. In mid-August 1903, he was appointed as the Third Field Army.

chief of staff.

Chen Xingyun, who partnered with Zhao Minhe, was 38 years old at the time, named Yuqing, and was born in the 91st grade of the mainland. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1898, he first served as the commander of the 15th Guards Regiment. He first led the entire regiment to block the Japanese army at the Jiangdong position east of Pyongyang.

Headquarters of the 19th Regiment, the 19th Regiment was crippled (more than three-quarters of the enemy's personnel were killed and wounded). The 15th Regiment followed Zhong Xiahuo's First Assault Group southward to pursue the Japanese Sixth Division

The remnants of the regiment waited until they encircled Seoul with Ding Jieyun's Southern Army. After the Battle of Seoul began, the 15th Regiment, as the vanguard of the main offensive force, first broke into the city. One of its battalions, led by battalion commander Mo Huahu, broke into the center of the city and was in chaos.
To be continued...