Brucha
King
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2007
- Messages
- 622
The unwarranted and unjust military aggression against Russian by the British crown has now waged for two months. During this time, Russian forces have successfully captured and occupied all British territories in China and have handed the Royal Navy a string of humiliating defeats in the on-going naval war. Despite this, however, victory is far from certain. Even as Hong Kong fell to General Aleksey Kuropatkins Russian 3rd Army, British forces have begun to move on my troops. The Indian 2nd Army made a feint for the city of Shanghai, drawing off the Russian 1st Army to protect the city from attack, and thus preventing them from reinforcing the Russian 3rd Army to the south at Hong Kong.
Even worse was the arrival of the Indian 3rd Army near Hong Kong - the British now begin to make preparations for a joint attack to re-take Hong Kong before Russian forces can bolster the beleaguered Russian 3rd Army, now bottled up in the city by the advanced British forces.
The pressing of the British military might begins to extend far out of the East Asian Theater, as the Russian city of Romanov-on-Murman was shelled by two British dreadnoughts, and the city has now been blockaded.
During the close of Week 37, 1901, the defenses of Romanov-on-Murman have been bolstered by the arrival of several batteries of horse artillery. As work is feverishly undertaken to repair the destroyed coastal forts of the city, the artillery bravely engage the British ships from shore. The HMS Revenge is hit twice amid ship and suffers minor damage (5/7 hp). However, the artillery is unable to chase off the British ships, which continue to shell the city.
Meanwhile, the Indian 2nd and 3rd Armies form into four separate columns and march south on the city of Hong Kong. Numbering only twenty-three divisions (of which seven were vastly under strength) and eight batteries of horse artillery, the Russian 3rd Army faces an much larger combined force of the Indian 2nd and 3rd Armies, fully twenty-nine divisions strong.
The Indian armies reform their columns as they approached the city; the Indian 2nd Army swings around west of the city to attack from the west while the Indian 3rd Army pushed south to attack the city from the west. Caught in the pincer move, General Kuropatkin makes a heroic decision and the day before the battle issues a general order to his divisional commanders:
Exact details of the battle are somewhat sketchy, as reports are still trickling in and wireless service has yet to be re-established within Hong Kong itself, but sufficient reports have returned to Saint Petersburg that gives an accurate depiction of the battle for the city (note: its really hard to keep track of battles that involve so many units, so I gave up and decided to simply count the dead and survivors afterwards!):
The start of the Battle of Hong Kong opened as the Indian 3rd Army swung around the city to the west and began its attacks from the open fields with sixteen cavalry divisions. The enemy forces faced no resistance in its advance, as General Kuropatkin decided to stay behind the citys meager defenses rather than risk a pitched battle out in the open. Deprived of any artillery, the enemy was forced into conducting a general assault on Russian positions, who benefited from what little trench works that could be erected before the enemy attack developed. On the other hand, Kuropatkin enjoyed the support of the large numbers of horse artillery batteries, whose presence at the battle now proved invaluable:
The Russian artillery began shelling the advancing Indian troops as soon as they came within range causing significant casualties; wave after wave of stubborn and relentless charges broke onto the Russian lines.
Charge of the 5th Indian Rawalpindi Cavalry Division:
Fighting on the outskirts of the city soon became fierce and desperate; the fighting was so merciless that several positions held by Russian troops changed hands several times over two days of heavy fighting, as Indian troops surged forward to overrun Russian trenches only to be thrown back by bloody and costly counter attacks.
Russian Trenched Held by 8th Siberian Rifles Division:
For two days, the enemy assaulted the Russian lines as Indian divisions simply melted away in the feverish fighting. By the third day, the Indian 3rd Army suffered disastrous losses; over 70% of its men had been killed, taken prisoner or wounded, and out of seventeen divisions, only four remained intact. At 10.29 am, on September 10th, 1901, the attack by the 3rd Indian Army was called off and the survivors retreated north to a line of hills overlooking Hong Kong harbor. In all, of the Russian defenders, fully 25% of the eleven divisions facing the Indian 3rd Indian Army were decimated.
The next day, the Indian 2nd Army, having occupied positions to the east of the city, prepared for a general assault across the canals protected the approach to the city from the east. The 2nd Army commander now unwisely divided his army into two groups, sending a smaller force of three divisions north to guard against any advance by arriving Russian troops from Shanghai attempting to lift the siege. The remainder of the army, fully twelve infantry divisions strong, were ordered to attack the city itself. Facing off the Indian forced were an equal number Russian divisions, though stretched thin attempting defending the entire line along the canal and some not near full strength. General Kuropatkin had positioned all the available artillery with the forces defending the western portion of the city, so the advancing enemy troops did not suffer such horrendous losses on their initial attack.
Trenches Held by the 4th Guard Infantry Division:
Here, the fighting was particularly fierce, as the lack of artillery prevented any hope of breaking up or disrupting the enemy attack as it crosses the canal. Four consecutive assaults on the Russian line was ordered and vicious hand-to-hand fighting broke out in several places as the front-most Russian trenches and positions were initially overrun. Railway Station No. 3 was one of the first Russian positions to be overrun, but only temporarily. The rail station changed hands no less than four times in a see-saw battle before being retaken by Russian troops the next day.
Counter Attack on RR Station No 3 by the 23rd Infantry Division:
By the evening of September 12th, the 2nd Indian Army was nearly destroyed; of the twelve infantry divisions, seven had ceased to exist, at the cost of three entire Russian divisions. At 10.34 PM on the 12th, the remnants of the Indian 2nd Army withdrew from the city and marched north to try to link up with the survivors of the Indian 3rd Army.
In all, the defense of Hong Kong cost the Russian 3rd Army six divisions: the 6th, 7th and 8th Siberian Cossacks, the 10th Cavalry, and the 18th and 25th Infantry divisions. However, the enemy suffered far worse in the ill-fated attack. Fully twenty divisions were wiped out in the four-day battle, including three Australian Light Horse regiments, ten Indian colonial cavalry divisions, three Indian infantry divisions, and 4 British Colonial Infantry divisions.
For their heroic defense of the city, several medals were later awarded to some of the defenders of the 3rd Army, including the 11th and 13th Infantry divisions, and the 8th East Siberian Rifle Division (all three were made elite).
Even worse was the arrival of the Indian 3rd Army near Hong Kong - the British now begin to make preparations for a joint attack to re-take Hong Kong before Russian forces can bolster the beleaguered Russian 3rd Army, now bottled up in the city by the advanced British forces.
The pressing of the British military might begins to extend far out of the East Asian Theater, as the Russian city of Romanov-on-Murman was shelled by two British dreadnoughts, and the city has now been blockaded.
During the close of Week 37, 1901, the defenses of Romanov-on-Murman have been bolstered by the arrival of several batteries of horse artillery. As work is feverishly undertaken to repair the destroyed coastal forts of the city, the artillery bravely engage the British ships from shore. The HMS Revenge is hit twice amid ship and suffers minor damage (5/7 hp). However, the artillery is unable to chase off the British ships, which continue to shell the city.
Meanwhile, the Indian 2nd and 3rd Armies form into four separate columns and march south on the city of Hong Kong. Numbering only twenty-three divisions (of which seven were vastly under strength) and eight batteries of horse artillery, the Russian 3rd Army faces an much larger combined force of the Indian 2nd and 3rd Armies, fully twenty-nine divisions strong.
The Indian armies reform their columns as they approached the city; the Indian 2nd Army swings around west of the city to attack from the west while the Indian 3rd Army pushed south to attack the city from the west. Caught in the pincer move, General Kuropatkin makes a heroic decision and the day before the battle issues a general order to his divisional commanders:
Exact details of the battle are somewhat sketchy, as reports are still trickling in and wireless service has yet to be re-established within Hong Kong itself, but sufficient reports have returned to Saint Petersburg that gives an accurate depiction of the battle for the city (note: its really hard to keep track of battles that involve so many units, so I gave up and decided to simply count the dead and survivors afterwards!):
The start of the Battle of Hong Kong opened as the Indian 3rd Army swung around the city to the west and began its attacks from the open fields with sixteen cavalry divisions. The enemy forces faced no resistance in its advance, as General Kuropatkin decided to stay behind the citys meager defenses rather than risk a pitched battle out in the open. Deprived of any artillery, the enemy was forced into conducting a general assault on Russian positions, who benefited from what little trench works that could be erected before the enemy attack developed. On the other hand, Kuropatkin enjoyed the support of the large numbers of horse artillery batteries, whose presence at the battle now proved invaluable:
The Russian artillery began shelling the advancing Indian troops as soon as they came within range causing significant casualties; wave after wave of stubborn and relentless charges broke onto the Russian lines.
Charge of the 5th Indian Rawalpindi Cavalry Division:
Fighting on the outskirts of the city soon became fierce and desperate; the fighting was so merciless that several positions held by Russian troops changed hands several times over two days of heavy fighting, as Indian troops surged forward to overrun Russian trenches only to be thrown back by bloody and costly counter attacks.
Russian Trenched Held by 8th Siberian Rifles Division:
For two days, the enemy assaulted the Russian lines as Indian divisions simply melted away in the feverish fighting. By the third day, the Indian 3rd Army suffered disastrous losses; over 70% of its men had been killed, taken prisoner or wounded, and out of seventeen divisions, only four remained intact. At 10.29 am, on September 10th, 1901, the attack by the 3rd Indian Army was called off and the survivors retreated north to a line of hills overlooking Hong Kong harbor. In all, of the Russian defenders, fully 25% of the eleven divisions facing the Indian 3rd Indian Army were decimated.
The next day, the Indian 2nd Army, having occupied positions to the east of the city, prepared for a general assault across the canals protected the approach to the city from the east. The 2nd Army commander now unwisely divided his army into two groups, sending a smaller force of three divisions north to guard against any advance by arriving Russian troops from Shanghai attempting to lift the siege. The remainder of the army, fully twelve infantry divisions strong, were ordered to attack the city itself. Facing off the Indian forced were an equal number Russian divisions, though stretched thin attempting defending the entire line along the canal and some not near full strength. General Kuropatkin had positioned all the available artillery with the forces defending the western portion of the city, so the advancing enemy troops did not suffer such horrendous losses on their initial attack.
Trenches Held by the 4th Guard Infantry Division:
Here, the fighting was particularly fierce, as the lack of artillery prevented any hope of breaking up or disrupting the enemy attack as it crosses the canal. Four consecutive assaults on the Russian line was ordered and vicious hand-to-hand fighting broke out in several places as the front-most Russian trenches and positions were initially overrun. Railway Station No. 3 was one of the first Russian positions to be overrun, but only temporarily. The rail station changed hands no less than four times in a see-saw battle before being retaken by Russian troops the next day.
Counter Attack on RR Station No 3 by the 23rd Infantry Division:
By the evening of September 12th, the 2nd Indian Army was nearly destroyed; of the twelve infantry divisions, seven had ceased to exist, at the cost of three entire Russian divisions. At 10.34 PM on the 12th, the remnants of the Indian 2nd Army withdrew from the city and marched north to try to link up with the survivors of the Indian 3rd Army.
In all, the defense of Hong Kong cost the Russian 3rd Army six divisions: the 6th, 7th and 8th Siberian Cossacks, the 10th Cavalry, and the 18th and 25th Infantry divisions. However, the enemy suffered far worse in the ill-fated attack. Fully twenty divisions were wiped out in the four-day battle, including three Australian Light Horse regiments, ten Indian colonial cavalry divisions, three Indian infantry divisions, and 4 British Colonial Infantry divisions.
For their heroic defense of the city, several medals were later awarded to some of the defenders of the 3rd Army, including the 11th and 13th Infantry divisions, and the 8th East Siberian Rifle Division (all three were made elite).
I love my far fetched war plans. Anyway great story can't wait to see what happens.
