The new round of offensive by the coalition forces is really not that fast. After all, no one is willing to move in this cold winter. Especially the British, who are hungry and cold at this time and have no way to go out and do anything.
As for the French troops, they were well fed and clothed, but they were a little frightened to have them go out alone to compete with the Russians in the cold winter months. After all, they had been tricked once decades ago.
This time, I will never act alone, even when I go to the toilet!
The coalition forces did not move, but Kornilov moved frequently. On the one hand, he stepped up the construction of fortifications and stockpiled supplies. On the other hand, he squeezed out 3,000 mobile troops and placed them on the front line of Telegraph Hill. He was really worried about Grand Duke Constantine.
There will be a huge rout, and once Telegraph Hill fails, Sevastopol will be in trouble as well.
Especially in this cold winter month, Sevastopol still relies on this lifeline for its supplies, so there must not be any mistakes.
According to Kornilov's estimate, even if Grand Duke Constantine's attack was a huge rout, the casualties should be only 30,000 to 40,000 people. His remaining 10,000 to 20,000 people would only have the strength to cover up the losses in Telegraph Mountain.
, we should still be able to hold on to Telegraph Hill.
In this way, even a disastrous defeat will not turn into the annihilation of the entire army.
So how prepared was Grand Duke Constantine?
As far as he was concerned, he only owed the east wind. On November 21, he ordered his 16,000 cavalry to suddenly go northward at night, aiming directly at Simferopol.
According to his battle plan, after arriving at Simferopol, these cavalrymen immediately went into hiding and rested, waiting for his main force to move north, and then they could directly take the coalition positions and catch them by surprise.
In this battle, he wanted to highlight the word "quick", to advance at the fastest speed and launch the attack at the fastest speed, which meant that he could bulldoze the coalition forces in one go.
But in many cases, you can't get up as quickly as you want. For example, in this deep winter season, an unexpected snowstorm can disrupt your entire arrangement.
The Russian cavalry marched north at night and then ran into a blizzard. What a tragedy!
Many Cossacks were frozen to death, and most of the horses were frozen to death. By the time these 16,000 Cossacks arrived at Simferopol, three full days had passed!
You know, this kind of journey can usually be completed in just over a day. Why does it take so long?
Not only did it take a long time, but more importantly, the non-combat damage was as high as 3,000! In other words, half of the 6,000 cavalry that Grand Duke Constantine exchanged from Kornilov were used in an instant!
This is not the most fatal thing. What is more important is that the remaining cavalry are tired, tired, and mentally exhausted. They cannot go into battle at all and must rest first.
Grand Duke Constantine was a little depressed after receiving this blow. He was about to show off his talents, but he was met with darkness when he opened the door. It was simply unlucky.
Although he was full of anger, Grand Duke Constantine was not discouraged, nor did he give up his original plan. According to his self-deception, it would not be a bad thing to prepare for a few more days, at least it would be more sufficient!
But it’s hard to say whether this is true or not. Anyway, after the Russian cavalry arrived at Simferopol, they lost half of their lives one by one. They were hiding in the barracks in the face of the sky and Mao Dong was unwilling to move at all.
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As for other follow-up troops, due to bad weather and difficult roads, they had to stay in the area around Sevastopol to wait for the weather to improve.
They waited for more than ten days. When the cavalry finally calmed down, Grand Duke Constantine took his two younger brothers and led the main follow-up troops to begin their march north.
Among them, Grand Duke Michael was responsible for commanding 12,000 infantry and 80 cannons, while Grand Duke Nicholas was responsible for commanding 16,000 infantry and 100 cannons. As for Grand Duke Constantine himself, he led 10,000
Two thousand infantry and one hundred and twenty cannon.
According to Archduke Constantine's plan, his twelve thousand men first merged with the cavalry, and then immediately rushed westward and pierced the chest of the coalition like a sharp knife.
Grand Duke Mikhail and Grand Duke Nicholas followed up to support him. When he opened the door to victory, they immediately rushed in to expand the victory.
It's just that Grand Duke Constantine didn't know that his plan had actually been leaked. The problem lay with the 16,000 cavalry who acted in advance. After this group of people arrived at Simferopol, they would inevitably be attacked by Simferopol.
Ropol residents noticed.
Originally, according to Archduke Constantine's plan, they would attack in less than two days, so naturally they didn't have to worry about leaking secrets.
But who failed to catch up with the changes in the plan, they stayed for an extra ten or twenty days. In such a long time, both the coalition spies and the Tatars with evil intentions could spy on this information.
Although the commander of the coalition forces is also mediocre, this kind of information can still attract attention. After all, it is impossible for these more than 10,000 cavalry to go to Simferopol for the winter, right? If you suddenly go north and say that you are not causing trouble, who will believe it?
ah!
This information soon reached the desks of Raglan and Conrobel. Although the coalition forces did not pay special attention to the situation in the north and moved the center of the attack completely south, this did not mean that they did not care about the more than 20,000 people stationed in the north.
People live and die.
Canrobert and Raglan unanimously concluded that the Russian army wanted to sneak attack the defenders to the north, so they specially ordered the defenders to strengthen their defenses and prepare for the attack.
What, you ask why not send reinforcements?
The reason was too simple. It was cold and the journey was long, so the coalition forces in the south were unwilling to move. Moreover, they believed that the defenders in the north had already built relatively solid fortifications, and the Russian army should not be able to take advantage unless they had an overwhelming advantage.
This judgment is quite correct. The northern defenders have done nothing else in the past two months and have only focused on strengthening their defenses. Thanks to their efforts, the position is not generally strong. Considering the Russian army's techniques, tactics, and weapons and equipment,
It's easier said than done to break through their defenses!
After another five days, Grand Duke Constantine finally arrived at Simferopol with more than 10,000 infantrymen. He suffered a lot along the way. The snowy roads were slippery and the roads were not ordinary mud. It took a lot of effort.
With the power of the tiger, he struggled to bring the troops to Simferopol.
But as a result, his raid plan had to be postponed again, because his infantry also needed to rest, otherwise they would not be able to join the battle. Moreover, Grand Duke Mikhail and Grand Duke Nicholas who followed behind also complained endlessly.
Because the road turned into a quagmire after being plowed by Grand Duke Constantine, it was even more difficult for them to march.
So the pause lasted another week, and by the time Grand Duke Mikhail and Grand Duke Nicholas arrived at Simferopol, it was almost a month late from the originally planned time to launch the attack...