Massed Forces

"Your Majesty, according to the intelligence we currently possess, although the main forces of the Tsarist Russian Empire's Caucasus Military District have gone north, they left more than a hundred thousand troops to garrison the southern Caucasus.

"Moreover, the Caucasus Military District has already begun mobilizing.

"With the comprehensive mobilization system they have built up over the past few years, they can soon mobilize several hundred thousand more men.

"With the empire's current military strength, if we want to defeat the Tsarist Russian Empire and wipe away our past humiliation, we must mobilize on a massive scale!"

Kör Ahmed Pasha, chief of the Ottoman Empire's general staff, made his report.

Abdul Hamid II could not help frowning.

Everything seemed rather different from what he had expected.

He had thought that once civil war broke out in the Tsarist Russian Empire, its forces would surely be stretched thin.

The Ottoman Empire would not need to commit much strength to defeat the Tsarist Russian Empire in one blow and retake the Caucasus region.

But now it seemed he had underestimated the enemy after all.

The Ottoman Empire had been in decline for many years. Even though Abdul Hamid II had devoted himself to restoring it after taking the throne, importing large quantities of weapons and equipment from the German Empire and hiring German military instructors to train its army.

This had greatly increased the Ottoman Empire's military strength.

But its foundations were simply too weak, and rising again remained extremely difficult.

For one thing, because of its weak national strength, the Ottoman Empire now had a standing army of only three hundred thousand men.

These troops had to garrison various regions, especially the Balkan Peninsula, which was a major defensive priority.

If they were to attack the Tsarist Russian Empire, they clearly needed to mobilize more forces.

"Mobilize in secret. At the same time, begin transferring troops to reinforce the Caucasus front.

"Once preparations are complete, launch the attack immediately.

"The only reason Mikhail was able to raise so many troops was the Baku Oil Field.

"As long as we can defeat them and retake the Baku Oil Field,

"the empire will gain an endless stream of wealth.

"Only then will we have sufficient funds to rearm, develop industry, and so on!"

Abdul Hamid II said to the assembled officials.

Mikhail earned enormous profits from the Baku Oil Field every year, and Abdul Hamid II was green with envy.

After all, this had once been Ottoman Empire territory!

In a sense, the Tsarist Russian Empire had stolen wealth that belonged to the Ottoman Empire.

It was obvious how attractive the Baku Oil Field was to the impoverished Ottoman Empire.

At this moment, however, the Ottoman Empire's leaders did not know

that vast quantities of oil lay buried beneath their territory in the Middle East.

Beneath those barren lands that appeared to be nothing but yellow sand, black gold was actually flowing.

The only reason the Middle East's wealthy elites in later generations could live so comfortably was the immense wealth brought by this oil.

Unfortunately, by the time the oil was extracted, this land no longer belonged to the Ottoman Empire.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" the assembled Ottoman Empire leaders replied.

Although civil war had broken out within the Tsarist Russian Empire,

the armies of the two sides had not actually begun fighting.

Large numbers of troops were being brought together.

Grand Duke Nicholas personally led over a hundred thousand troops from the Petersburg Military District, along with fifty thousand elite guards, to Moscow by rail.

At the same time, more than half the troops from the Huasha Military District and Vilna Military District were also transferred to Moscow.

Together with the more than hundred thousand troops of the Mosk Military District,

Grand Duke Nicholas clearly intended to assemble a massive force of over three hundred and fifty thousand men there.

Meanwhile, near Kazan, General Afanasiy Klyuchin, commander of the Kazan Military District, had finished pulling back all the district's forces. After abandoning nearly all the outlying strongholds, he was defending Kazan to the death.

Kazan was a vital transportation hub in the Tsarist Russian Empire.

The railway ran east from Moscow through Kazan to Orenburg, then entered the West Siberia Plain and continued east.

The Volga River also flowed through Kazan, making inland shipping there flourish.

With numerous factories as well, it was a major industrial center of the Tsarist Russian Empire.

Once Grand Duke Mikhail captured Kazan, he could use the railway to march directly on Moscow.

General Vladimir Kosel, commander of the Orenburg Military District, had ultimately been persuaded by Grand Duke Nicholas and chosen to side with him.

The Orenburg Military District's troops had begun boarding trains for Kazan to defend the city alongside the Kazan Military District's forces.

Grand Duke Nicholas had ordered them to withstand and tie down the main force led by Grand Duke Mikhail, buying time for the main Russian army to surround and annihilate General Brusilov's troops. They were also to inflict as many casualties as possible on Grand Duke Mikhail's forces.

If Grand Duke Mikhail battered himself bloody against Kazan while the more than hundred thousand troops under General Brusilov were annihilated,

then Grand Duke Mikhail was bound to lose this war.

On May 31, the Caucasus Military District's 1st Infantry Division began landing on the riverbank south of Kazan under escort from the Volga River Fleet.

"General, the enemy has offered no resistance. Their troops have all pulled back to Kazan and the surrounding area," reported Major Anatoly, commander of the 1st Infantry Division's reconnaissance battalion.

The division commander, Major General Viktor Sakharov, nodded.

"The reconnaissance battalion will stand guard, and the 1st Infantry Regiment will begin landing. Afterward, the engineer battalion will come ashore and build a dock to prepare for the landing of the troops that follow," Major General Viktor Sakharov ordered.

"Yes, General!" replied Brigadier General Oleg, the division's chief of staff.

"Also, contact the Volga River Fleet and have them advance to the stretch of river near Kazan to watch for the enemy. They should also prepare to provide fire support for our upcoming attack," Major General Viktor Sakharov ordered.

Although most of the Volga River Fleet's gunboats displaced only a few hundred tons or even less, and their main armament consisted of 122 mm quick-firing guns, smaller 76.2 mm quick-firing guns, and even 57 mm and 37 mm quick-firing guns,

dozens of gunboats could still provide the troops with powerful fire support.

"Yes, General!" Oleg nodded repeatedly.

He knew full well that Major General Viktor Sakharov was preparing for the coming attack.

As time passed, more and more troops arrived at Kazan.

The large-scale assault on Kazan by Grand Duke Mikhail's forces was also about to begin.

This was undoubtedly the first large-scale battle between the two sides in the civil war.

It attracted the attention of the various factions in the Tsarist Russian Empire, as well as keen interest from foreign powers.

Perhaps it would serve as a reference for their next moves.