In view of the fact that the Ming army had the relative advantage of playing at home, this head-on confrontation ultimately ended with the Ming army's victory.
Although the Russian army was unable to devote heavy troops due to terrain and distance restrictions, at the insistence of Catherine II, they still carefully organized an expeditionary force of 9,000 people.
Including more than 3,000 Cossack cavalry, two fusilier regiments, a grenadier battalion, a chasseur battalion, as well as a large number of artillery and baggage - in fact, this scale is not small.
The news of the incoming expeditionary force was soon known to the Ming Dynasty monarchs and ministers, because it involved the face of the emperor of the Celestial Dynasty. At the same time, the chief minister of the dynasty believed that there would be a battle sooner or later. Instead of avoiding the fight for the time being and delaying it until later, it was better to take advantage of the opportunity. This is a good opportunity to wait for work and fight for a hundred years of peace and harmony.
Occupying the right location and people, there is no suspense about the victory of this "Battle of Hualin Valley", but there are inevitably certain ups and downs in the process.
In the mid-eighteenth century, the steady development of science and the endless tempering of wars allowed Europeans to make rapid progress in military technology. This was also a critical period when the gap between Eastern and Western civilizations widened.
Because of its geographical characteristics, Tsarist Russia can undoubtedly better absorb and learn from Western European civilization. In terms of military organization, system, equipment, and training, the famous Peter I initiated many reforms, and the Russian military after the reform of imitating the Western European army has become more reasonable. .
At the same time, the many wars launched by Tsarist Russia in the 18th century had well tempered the army. The Russian army fought against all kinds of opponents in completely different environments - the Swedish army, the Prussian army, the Ottoman army, etc., and its combat power was considerable.
However, the huge cost of the labor expedition basically offset these advantages, and the Russian generals mistakenly believed that the Ming army was no different from the Crimean Tatars, and the entire army was annihilated.
In fact, the advanced military system and organization and the ferocity of the Russian army also caused great trouble to the Ming army participating in the war. They thought they could directly defeat them in one go in the field, but the attack was fruitless and they had to use other tactics. .
After the war, in order to maintain their own face, the captured Tsarist Russian officers boasted that the Russian army could defeat Sweden, Prussia, and the Ottomans as the first-class military in Europe; gossip from missionaries and European businessmen also confirmed this.
It can be said that the victory of this battle greatly confused the judgment of the Ming emperors and ministers, and they did not pay too much attention to it.
They mistakenly believe that the European army is nothing more than this. Even if it is more fierce (advanced), it is ultimately unable to send a large army. An expedition with thousands or tens of thousands of people can be completely dealt with.
Although the European flintlocks and smoothbore cannons of this era have improved in manufacturing technology, their structures have not changed, and the Russian craftsmanship is so rough that Ming people can laugh at it.
After that, the "fighting for a hundred years of peace" envisioned by the then chief minister was almost achieved.
It was not until the late nineteenth century that Tsarist Russia resumed its organized incursions into the border areas, and they basically focused on cautious encroachment.
During the period of drastic changes in the Ming Dynasty, the two sides experienced countless overt and covert games on the borders of the northwest, northeast and other places. The current situation was basically determined at that time.
The division of Beihai Lake is particularly unique. It is divided into two parts from the middle, with the northwest half belonging to Russia and the southeast half belonging to the center. However, the ten kilometers on either side of the center line are public fishing areas.
The water surface is fine, but there are too many disputed points on land to count. There are more than 40 disputed points along the 100-kilometer border east of Beihai Lake.
The 141st Regiment of the 47th Army Division was the fastest. They traveled lightly and arrived near Yaerling on October 4th.
The 93rd Border Defense Battalion here is already under great pressure at the moment, because the two regiments of the Russian army across the border are watching eagerly. Although they have not crossed the border, they are camping directly less than two kilometers away from the border.
"There are nearly 5,000 people in the two regiments."
"Aircraft reconnaissance said they brought an artillery team, visual inspection said at least thirty 75 field guns."
"This is a clear support. What should we do? Should we just call for expulsion?"
Faced with the concerns of the regimental officers, the regiment leader calmly ordered: "Don't do anything hard first. We don't have cannons at hand, and the heavy weapons are still behind. If the guns go off and a big fight breaks out, we will definitely suffer big losses."
Therefore, the Ming army did not rush forward to expel them, but divided its troops to occupy several surrounding highlands and began to build field fortifications.
The two sides faced each other across the border, and Ya'erling and the nearly a hundred Russian troops entrenched above were caught in the middle.
In the next few days while waiting for reinforcements from the Ming army, both sides continued to send small groups of personnel to negotiate, but to no avail.
When things developed on the last day, it actually turned into scolding when they met. The officers and soldiers no longer had the heart to reason with these Russians.
October 7th, a refreshing and pleasant evening.
The entire 47th Infantry Division arrived, and all kinds of heavy weapons also arrived that night. The only shortcoming is that it does not bring enough ammunition. Except for the barrel suppressed artillery, which has two bases, the other light weapons only have one base.
Division Commander Dong Daizhou has just turned fifty this year. He is inconspicuous among dozens of division commanders from all over the country. His appearance and ability are both ordinary. His success in being promoted to Brigadier General that year can even be called extraordinary luck.
At the same time, it was also due to his own "speculation" success. Like hundreds of colonels, he remained at this military rank for many years. However, Dong Daizhou was unwilling to waste time, so he tried every means to manage relationships and was finally transferred to Anxi served.
During that period, he directly participated in two border conflicts, one in one, one in one, and one in one, and barely accumulated enough practical experience. In the end, he was very lucky and succeeded in "surpassing the tribulation and ascending".
It can be said that officers in peacetime are also very helpless. Many of them are stuck in a certain military rank for half their lives and cannot be promoted. However, going to Northern Xinjiang, where conflicts often occur, has become their last hope. Although the conditions are difficult, it actually requires a lot of money. It depends on the price.
"The governor's order is to drive them away as soon as possible. If the other party does not cooperate, then they will be driven away by force immediately."
"If the thousands of enemy troops on the opposite side want to get involved, then we will deal with them together, and we must do it quickly and ruthlessly."
"But we don't want to annihilate them all. Unless we are completely sure, we only need to annihilate one of them sharply."
In the newly erected big tent, the chief of staff reiterated the requirements of the operation to the participating officers, and then began to announce the planned deployment.
A large-scale map of this area was laid flat on the aluminum alloy folding table. The chief of staff took two pencils, one blue and one red, from a staff officer, and while drawing circles on the map, he said:
"At seven o'clock tomorrow morning, the 141st Regiment will conduct fire reconnaissance on the frontier of the 089 Highland. A quarter of an hour later, it will cover the main body of the highland. At 7:40, two infantry teams will advance to recapture the high ground."
“The 140th Regiment and the 139th Regiment are on standby. If most of the enemy forces on the opposite side move, they will detour from the southwest and due east respectively, allowing the enemy to advance first, and then attack after forming a pocket formation.
"Eat one part first, depending on the situation. If the enemy in front of you is resisting fiercely, then eat half of the regiment first; otherwise, you can consider encircling and annihilating the entire regiment. There is no need to consider the border this time, you can cross the border at will."
Everyone was either nodding and thinking, or whispering to each other. The leader of the mountain artillery regiment asked with some worry: "The enemy may have aircraft to support the attack. What about our own air force? Have we discussed it?"
"The Air Force will arrive at noon today. There are two groups of planes and dozens of them. Don't worry about it." Dong Daizhou waved his hand and ordered: "The tactical strategy map will be issued later. Let's go back and prepare."
Early next morning.
The cool autumn wind blew by, making people who were still a little confused when they first woke up.
On the left is the endless Beihai Lake. The light blue lake is extremely clear, like crystal clear crystal. The tranquil lake surface is rippled by the autumn wind, and the soft sunlight of the morning is sprinkled on it, sparkling with sparkling light.
The golden autumn and October are the most delicious season for whitefish. The fresh whitefish caught by fishermen on the lakeside are all purchased by the logistics unit of the 47th Division.
So the soldiers' breakfast became a unique biscuit with fish soup. Although the strong salty biscuits were not easy to swallow, fortunately, the cooked white salmon soup was extremely delicious. The combination of the two was a good one. Paused.
"Boom boom boom——"
At 7:00 in the morning, the 80mm mortar belonging to the third battalion of the 141st Infantry Regiment fired two salvos into the field in front of Ya'erling on time. More than a dozen mortar shells exploded and raised clouds of smoke.
The wind blows and the smoke disperses.
Lying down, squatting, sitting, and lying down, the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers in the field fortifications were very comfortable, and they were chatting happily.
Some people bet that the Russian troops must have known better and evacuated, while others believed that the other side would definitely not shed tears when they saw the coffin, so everyone began to place bets on the spot.
Ten minutes after the shelling, which was equivalent to the final warning, passed at 7:29 in the morning, the regiment's 128mm heavy mortar and the battalion's 80mm mortar began to directly bombard the main body of Ya'erling.
The flash of the explosion flickered on and off, and then the rumbling sound of the explosion slowly came. The sound was like two kicks set off during the New Year. The dust rolled up almost obscured this small mound.
"Team 2 and 3, pack your things and get ready to leave!" an officer shouted.
While preparing for firepower, more than 200 infantrymen from the two teams immediately left the second-line positions and came to the offensive starting positions in the southwest and southeast of Ya'erling respectively.
The officers and soldiers strictly followed the scheduled plan. When the time came to 7:40, the leading officer immediately ordered the dispatch.
The team's mortars and heavy machine guns were deployed on the left and right wings of the offensive starting position, directly covering the infantry; while the infantry of the three platoons formed in half a cup of tea, more than a hundred people were scattered in two directions. In the vast wilderness of more than 10,000 square meters.
On a frontal width of nearly 400 meters, the Ming infantry who launched the attack on foot moved very quickly - as long as they were not blocked by enemy fire, they had to close the distance as quickly as possible.
"Bang! Bang!"
On the high ground, the dazzling muzzle flash suddenly flashed, and the firing of rifles and machine guns immediately rang out. Apparently some people lost the bet this time.
The infantrymen who were under attack took advantage of the situation to lie down, then lay prone on the ground and fired back, and the two sides started shooting at each other.
Such resistance is undoubtedly symbolic. Since the firepower of the regiment is not enough to make it surrender, what about the division level?
The silent mountain artillery regiment finally got permission to fire - because the ammunition they carried was limited, the division headquarters did not want them to fire at first, so as to avoid the dilemma of insufficient ammunition during subsequent battles.
"Dong dong dong dong——"
The deafening roar was like the sound of beating war drums. The fifty-four 112mm howitzers fired three rapid fire rounds, and then fired five more rapid fire rounds.
More than four hundred rounds of 112mm anti-explosive bombs were poured into the small 089 high ground. The feeling of the earth shaking made the Ming army infantry on the front line rejoice.
A blue signal flare is launched from one's own position, indicating that one's own artillery has stopped firing. There is no need to worry about accidental damage and the attack can continue.
The battle to capture Ya'erling was very short - most of the field fortifications built by Tsarist Russian soldiers were destroyed by fierce shelling, were attacked from two directions, and soon collapsed.
More than twenty corpses were scattered in random directions on the high ground. Another dozen people broke out in a panic under the leadership of a lieutenant, and the rest were all taken prisoner.
The few shrubs and trees here had been destroyed by the previous shelling, and most of them were burning.
Thousands of Russian troops across the border have remained silent, as if watching fire from across the bank, as if the dozens of soldiers here are not their own.
The two sides continued to confront each other like this, and the progress of this conflict seemed to be beyond everyone's expectations - not fighting back after being beaten? Then the mission ordered by the superiors will be abandoned, and the military achievements will have to be said goodbye.
The strange situation continued until that afternoon.
When the roar of the engine came from the distant sky, the Ming army roughly realized that something was not right.
Eighteen SB-2 light bombers and eight Yi-16 fighter jets came slowly from the west, flew straight across the national border, and dropped 100kg aerial bombs on the Ming army's positions.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
"Dong dong dong dong——"
Fortunately, the division's anti-aircraft artillery battalion was already prepared... at least a little prepared. The four Type 3 and 4 anti-aircraft guns on alert were not afraid of danger and immediately opened fire back.
A string of 20.8×112mm artillery shells shot diagonally into the sky, and the trajectory of the tracer bullets was like spears of light thrown into the blue sky!
Countless metal fragments burst out from the damaged bomber, and thick gray or black smoke poured out, dragging a long tail of smoke in the sky.
At this time, the Russian army across the border also began to take action, seemingly not paying attention to the entire division of the Ming army here.
Most of the more than one hundred aerial bombs landed on the second-line positions. Thanks to the timely counterattack of the air defense battalion, otherwise the artillery positions would have been destroyed.
"Let's just say they won't let it go."
"Tsk, I thought these old guys were just humiliating themselves, but it seems they really want to start a fight."
"Junzuo, what are our planes doing? Are the people in the Air Force making this a joke?!"
The disgraced officers were furious, and so was Dong Daizhou.
He immediately asked someone to call the field airport to inquire, but the latter responded with a very confused call saying that the aircraft formation had already taken off on time.
At the same time, 200 kilometers west of the 089 Highland, over Kiliansk.
Twelve twin-engine light bombers from the Seventh Light Bombing Detachment of the Air Force flew here under the escort of fighter jets. According to intelligence, the Russian army's field airport was here.
"Boss, seeing that there is no fleet on the ground, they should have all taken off. The Army is going to be in trouble."
army? No matter what they do!
(End of chapter)
