Chapter 488: Chapter 482: Trench Warfare Rehearsal
"Commander, the Silestra Fortress is naturally a region easy to defend and hard to attack. It’s perfectly normal for our offensive to face setbacks! Frankly speaking, I don’t believe our army can overthrow the Turkish forces within the fortress in a short time!"
Since there were only two people, General Gorchakov did not hide his inner thoughts, and his expression and tone revealed a sense of solemnity and seriousness. After a period of field investigation on the front line, General Gorchakov completely abandoned the unrealistic idea of a quick victory. However, he believed that as long as the Russian Empire was determined, they would be able to conquer this Silestra Fortress.
After all, the ratio of the attacking army to the defending army had reached nearly 3:1.
Moreover, the Turkish troops within the fort were also suffering. Judging from the number of Turkish deaths outside the fortress (most of whom died while trying to destroy the Russian Empire’s trenches), the Turkish forces still remaining inside "Tabia" fortress were already scarce.
General Gorchakov believed that in two weeks, they could completely occupy this fort, turning this bridgehead dome fort into a safeguard for the Russian army against the Anglo-French army.
Looking at General Gorchakov, who still maintained an "optimistic" military style, Prince Paskievich shook his head and sighed, "I certainly know that if we give our troops enough time, we can conquer the fort that damn Prussian (Prussian engineering Colonel Rach, Silestra, and Ruse are his masterpieces) fellow remodeled, but do we really have time to waste here..."
Prince Paskievich paused, incoherently questioning and answering himself, "...I mean, even if the Anglo-French alliance army hasn’t arrived at Silestra Fortress, His Majesty the Tsar won’t give us so much time anymore, will he? We have already wasted too much time here!"
"Wait! Commander, do you mean that the Anglo-French alliance army has already reached Silestra Fortress?" General Gorchakov extracted the key information from Prince Paskievich’s words.
"Yes!" Prince Paskievich nodded and then relayed the intelligence obtained from the Cossack cavalry to General Gorchakov.
"300,000 men? That’s utterly ridiculous!"
In response to the intelligence from the Cossack cavalry, General Gorchakov was obviously unwilling to believe it.
For 300,000 men to reach Silestra Fortress, the required logistics supply is simply astronomical, not to mention that the Ottoman Empire itself does not have the capacity to sustain a 300,000-strong army.
This means that the majority of the army’s needs would have to be transported from England and France, and combined, England and France’s maritime forces, serving as transport ships, could not sustain 300,000 men within the Ottoman Empire’s territory.
In Gorchakov’s view, the combined efforts of England and France could at most maintain a 150,000 to 200,000 army in the Ottoman Empire’s logistical situation.
Moreover, such an army would need to send forces to the Caucasus Region, so the number of troops that could reach the Near East and support the Ottoman Empire would not be many, possibly only about 80,000 to 90,000. According to the current Russian Empire’s military strength in the Danube River Region, if Tsar Nicholas I were willing to transfer a Guard Division to the Danube River Region, they could still engage in battle.
In Gorchakov’s ideology, although the Russian Empire’s troops were far inferior in shooting to the well-trained allied forces, in close-quarters combat, the Russian troops, inheriting Suvorov’s philosophy, were not afraid of the allied forces.
[PS: Insert an anecdote, a factory owner with the last name of En in London is intensely criticizing the Russian Empire’s military philosophy since Sullov, namely "bullets are fools, bayonets are heroes".
The factory owner with the last name En states: "The Russian Empire’s troops can only pierce the granite of the Alps, not the stones atop the Silestra fortress."]
Of course, Gorchakov does not know that this is just his wishful thinking. The allied forces equipped with Minie Rifles and the Russian Imperial Army are worlds apart.
Gorchakov, fantasizing about achieving victory with bayonets, has no idea what kind of situation the Russian Imperial Army will face next.
"Although I also think this conclusion is absurd, it is certain that the Anglo-French Alliance Army (here, Paskievich automatically ignored the Sardinian and Ottoman troops) has begun to gather here, and their vanguard has already engaged with us! Our time is running out!" said Prince Paskievich, nodding worriedly.
After a moment of contemplation, Gorchakov, with determination on his face, asked for the battle request: "Commander, please let me lead the Polish Corps to destroy this force! If we let them be, they will undoubtedly pose a great threat to our troops!"
"Gorchakov!" Paskievich’s words revealed displeasure, "At this point, do you still intend to annihilate the forces within Silestra Fortress?"
"Commander, we have no other path to take!" Gorchakov, showing no concession, said to Paskievich, "I know our troops could face the main forces of the Anglo-French alliance at any moment, but we cannot abandon the siege of Silestra! Only by controlling Silestra Fortress do we have the capability to battle the main forces to come!"
Seeing the unyielding determination of Gorchakov to fight to the death, Prince Paskievich chose to follow Gorchakov’s suggestion, giving Gorchakov command of the 32,000-strong Polish Corps First Division and Second Division.
"When do you plan to launch the attack?" asked Prince Paskievich to Gorchakov.
"After I have scouted the actual troop strength of this allied force!" replied Prince Gorchakov.
In order to support (or perhaps thwart) Gorchakov’s actions, Prince Paskevich immediately dispatched a regiment of Cossack cavalry to be under Gorchakov’s command for his use.
With the strength of two divisions plus a cavalry regiment, Gorchakov felt confident about the upcoming battle. He believed that the number of the Allied forces could not possibly exceed the forces under his command.
Then, General Gorchakov bid farewell to Prince Paskevich, who, lying on his camp bed, rose to see Gorchakov out of the tent.
Watching Gorchakov’s elongated departing silhouette under the setting sun, Paskevich sighed again.
...
The sun set, the night arose, and the time quickly turned to 1 a.m.
The cunning moonlight illuminated the French temporary camp less than 2 kilometers away from the Silestra Fortress. Under the moonlight, a six-foot-deep makeshift trench appeared in front of the camp, with barbed wire and wooden spikes forming obstacles on the trench’s forefront.
When Gorchakov led the Cossack cavalry under the cover of night to scout the French camp, the scene before him made Gorchakov feel he might be facing a tricky opponent.
The surrounding barbed wire and obstacles prevented his infantry and cavalry from engaging in close combat with the Allied forces, and the trenches effectively shielded against artillery impacts.
Moreover, behind these trenches and barbed wire, Gorchakov felt an unprecedented chill. From the time Conrobel’s forces encamped to now, only a few hours had elapsed, yet within these few hours, the Allied forces had already constructed a defense position akin to a skirmisher’s pit. This makeshift position signified a disciplined military force.
If this makeshift version of the trench was tasked to the Russian Empire, it would take at least two days to complete.
The disparity between the Allied forces and the Russian Army had become fully apparent here.
As Gorchakov was lost in thought, a squad of Bashbozuk cavalry silently approached from Gorchakov’s flank.
With a bang of gunfire, the Cossack cavalryman beside Gorchakov fell.
"Charge!"
Once aware, Gorchakov and the Cossack cavalry immediately launched a counterattack toward the direction of the cavalry, and the gunfire quickly attracted the attention of the Allied forces within the camp.
A company of the Zuav Corps, wielding Minie rifles, rushed out of the camp. Seeing this, Gorchakov quickly ordered the Cossack cavalry not to linger in a skirmish with the Bashbozuk cavalry.
Upon hearing Gorchakov’s orders, the Cossack cavalry, tapping into their fierce and combative nature as a nomadic people, drew their scimitars from their belts and charged on horseback to engage the Bashbozuk cavalry, who were comparable in number.
In just a few rounds, the Bashbozuk cavalry, initially in a superior position, gradually found themselves at a disadvantage.
Seizing an opportune moment, the Cossack cavalry paid a few lives to carve out a path of escape for General Gorchakov.
Gorchakov, along with the Cossack cavalry, gradually distanced themselves from the French camp. The Bashbozuk cavalry, however, remained in place and did not pursue, as they could not be sure if the Cossacks were baiting them into a chase.
Afterward, the Bashbozuk cavalry dismounted and used Turkish scimitars to sever the heads of the Cossacks lying on the ground as trophies.
A while later, Major General Canrobert and Captain Jerome Patterson appeared before the Bashbozuk cavalry.
Unable to communicate verbally, the Bashbozuk cavalry presented the heads of the Cossack cavalry to Major General Canrobert as if they were offering treasures.
For the Bashbozuk cavalry’s barbaric actions, a hint of disgust flashed in Canrobert’s eyes, which he quickly concealed.
"You did very well!" Canrobert nodded amiably and told them in French.