On the afternoon of the 16th, Antono's 2nd, which was still struggling desperately and trying to break through to the north, suddenly encountered a Chinese army armored cavalry group (equipped with the 3rd Brigade of the 4th Army and 24th Cavalry) that was attacking from the east, and launched a surprise attack when the 3rd Praetorian Cavalry (reinforced 30 chariots and armored vehicles) to the north of the army, the 3rd Infantry (a brigade of the 3rd Reinforced Cavalry Army) to the west, and the pursuing infantry to the south.

After the initial unilateral massacre, the Russian army, exhausted and lacking anti-tank and air defense means, began to break up and surrender in a whole company, and the battle lasted until dusk, when the whole army was cut into four sections, and the rest relied on the forests and highlands to survive. After nightfall, under the direct command of Army General Antonov, the 6th Siberian Division, which had relatively intact combat strength, abandoned its baggage artillery and took advantage of the darkness to disperse and break through.

The next day, the Chinese army launched a general attack on the remnants of the enemy in the encirclement, using hundreds of sorties and firing special smoke bombs, and the infantry gradually contracted the encirclement with the support of combat vehicles, and the Russian army units that had lost their unified command and were completely desperate for the future surrendered one after another. Before nightfall, the Siberian 2nd, which had been heavily defeated in the battle of Ulan-Ude but survived, was completely destroyed this time, more than 30,000 people were captured in two days, about 5,000 were killed, and only more than 4,000 people under Lieutenant General Antonov fled back to Irkutsk for several days in the forest, but most of them were ragged, unarmed, demoralized, and without fighting spirit - in Bareyev's view, "not only waste of food, but sometimes also the virus of defeatism, which endangers the physical and mental health of the soldiers." ”。

On the evening of the 26th, after a 13-hour mechanized march, the Qinchuan detachment went to Nizhne-Uginsk, 200 miles west of Ma. The first few cars drove into the town without resistance, but found that the iron bridge had already been blown up, and the bridge was broken and flowing, and it was relatively silent......

Thus, in a short period of five days, most of the seven infantry divisions and three cavalry divisions of the main field forces of the Russian Eastern Siberian Front were annihilated, and the garrisons of the Irkutsk fortress and other strongholds in the rear also suffered heavy losses, with more than 80,000 prisoners captured, 450 artillery pieces, and countless baggage, horses, and vehicles. "It no longer exists as a separate support for the Baikal direction", so the battle smashed the defense line on the Arkut River that the Russian army had been holding since the beginning of the spring, and the official war history of the Chinese side recorded it as the "Battle of Arkut".

After this battle, the commander Bareyev was trapped in the Irkutsk fortress, with only 15,000 people left in the fortress garrison, and even at the end of the month, the remnants of the various troops that had escaped from the encirclement were barely managed to gather more than 20,000 men, half of whom were still old, weak, sick and disabled.

Needless to say, the fort's defenses were extremely strong. But by this time, Irkutsk was already deep in the Chinese front. The distance from the front line has been stretched to more than 400 kilometers, and all efforts to change the predicament are destined to not work in the short term - and even at a glance, there is nothing but despair.

June 27, Xinhua Palace, the base camp of the imperial conference hall.

“…… To sum up, the enemy's Eastern Siberian Front has lost most of its combat strength, and our army is approaching Krasnoyarsk from the east and south, and to the east, Yuan Xu's detachment has captured Nizhny Udinsk. It is about 300 miles away from Kecheng, and to the west, the 18th Regiment Army arrived at Abakan, which is also far from Kechengli. ”

“…… After the capture of Ayaguz on the 23rd by the main group of the North-Western Front. 3 Advance 130 miles in a row, and yesterday entered Giztobe, 130 miles from Semey (Semipalatinsk). It was planned to advance to Semey on July 1 and cross the Irtysh River to attack the city by 74. ”

After the chief of the general staff, Liu Bailiang, finished his report, put down the folder, and nodded to Her Majesty the Empress on the throne.

"At this most critical juncture of the war against Russia, the secretaries have worked hard, and the front-line soldiers have sacrificed their lives to win successive battles, and the good news has been frequently reported, and I am very pleased." Qianhua was graceful and slightly bowed, and raised his hand to signal Liu Bailiang to return to his seat.

"Congratulations to the emperor, congratulations to the emperor, thanks to my emperor's holy might, thank God for blessing my emperor-"

Foreign Minister Chen Siguang, who was not a member of the group, rushed to make a fuss, but Zhang Yaoqian, chief of staff of the army, bluntly interrupted him: "The minister thinks that the overall situation is undecided, and it is not yet time to sit back and relax." ”

Qianhua turned his cheeks and motioned for him to continue.

"The battle of Arkut was fought beautifully, no one can deny it, but the fundamental problem has not been solved, Irkutsk is still in the hands of the enemy, the railway and water communication to the city of Croatia is stuck by the neck of the enemy, the armored detachment that attacked Nizhny Udinsk is already at the end of the crossbow, because the enemy blew up the iron bridge in advance, it is impossible for the Northern Army to continue to advance to the city until the end of the month. According to reliable information, the enemy is rushing to the aid of Kecheng with three or four new divisions, and it is impossible for the 18th Regiment Army, which lacks heavy weapons, to complete the attack alone. According to other intelligence, the newly formed Trans-Baikal Front of the Russian army, with the famous general Brusilov as its commander, commands the strategic reserve of the 15th division withdrawn from the European theater, and is equipped with various technical weapons including combat vehicles in the Anglo-French aid area. Second, Barnaul and Semeiy will attack on the front line and fight a decisive battle with the main group of our Northwest Front, first crushing our Northwest Army, and then returning to the division to rescue Irkutsk. ”

"Which one do you think the enemy's true intentions are?" Qianhua asked knowingly.

"There is no point in rescuing Irkutsk now, the field troops of the East Siberian Front have almost been eaten up by us, and the remaining garrisons of the fortress will not be of much use even if they are rescued. On the contrary, if this enemy forces counterattack the main force of our Northwest Army, the main force of our Northern Army will not be able to respond to the rush in time because the lines of communication are blocked. ”

"So, what do you think you can do to prevent it?"

Zhang Yaoqian looked at Liu Bailiang, and then at Prime Minister Yang Zhengjin, and only after getting the affirmative glances of the two giants did he raise his voice and said: "The minister thinks that the first reserve army, which was originally scheduled to be sent to the northern army, should be loaded and transported to the northwest as soon as possible in case of contingencies." ”

The 1st Reserve Army of the base camp was formed after the Battle of Ulan-Ude, and was composed of the 1st and 2nd Janissary Armies, the 12th Infantry Corps and the 4th Cavalry Corps of the Northern Front, which were withdrawn to the interior for rest, with a total of six infantry divisions and five cavalry brigades, of which the 1st and 2nd Praetorian Cavalry of the two Praetorian Guards were separated+; It was changed to an armored cavalry brigade to augment the armored combat power of the Praetorian Guard units.

"So, the Northwest Army will also suspend the offensive, switch to defense on the spot, and wait for reinforcements?"