The Battle of Kazan
"Your Highness, the 1st Infantry Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, the 7th Infantry Division, and the 7th Cavalry Brigade have all reached Kazan.
General Viktor Sakharov requests permission to attack Kazan according to the predetermined plan."
Yakov reported.
"How many enemy troops are in Kazan?"
Mikhail asked.
"Your Highness, in addition to the Kazan Military District's troops, those from the Orenburg Military District have also been arriving. They're being transported to Kazan by train, so they're moving quickly," Yakov continued.
Mikhail nodded. "Tell General Viktor Sakharov to launch the attack as planned. Also, order the troops following behind to pick up the pace."
Mikhail knew full well that taking Kazan with three infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade, a total force of more than sixty thousand men, would not be easy.
If they were facing only the troops of the Kazan Military District, perhaps there would be no problem.
But the Orenburg Military District had also sided against them, greatly strengthening Grand Duke Nicholas's forces.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Yakov replied.
On May 7, the Battle of Kazan finally began.
Dozens of gunboats from the Volga River Fleet spread out along the Volga River and began a fierce bombardment of the Kazan defenders' lines with their naval guns.
Naval guns of every caliber fired furiously, sending 122 mm, 76.2 mm, 57 mm, and 47 mm shells crashing into the defenders' positions.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Explosions rang out in a dense, unbroken succession.
The defenders' positions were shrouded in smoke and flames, one after another.
The Russian soldiers' combat proficiency was poor to begin with, and their defensive positions had been thrown together in haste. Naturally, no one could expect those positions to be particularly sturdy.
Many trenches had been dug haphazardly for only a short stretch and weren't deep enough. Even crouching inside, a soldier couldn't avoid having his head exposed, much less rely on such a trench for protection from artillery.
Moreover, these trenches had not only been left unreinforced but had also been dug in straight lines.
A shell landing inside one would not only kill or wound a large number of men but also destroy the trench with ease.
It could be said that the defensive positions dug by the Kazan garrison were barely any better than flat ground.
As a result, under the Volga River Fleet's fierce bombardment, the troops holding the positions suffered heavy casualties.
"Boom! Boom!"
The artillery of the Caucasus Military District's three infantry divisions also concentrated their guns and opened fire on the Kazan defenders' lines.
Each of the three divisions' artillery regiments was equipped with twenty-four 122 mm howitzers and forty-eight 76.2 mm field guns.
Together, the three artillery regiments had seventy-two 122 mm howitzers and 144 76.2 mm howitzers.
In addition, each infantry regiment's artillery company was equipped with six 76.2 mm mountain guns. The three infantry divisions had nine infantry regiments in all, giving them a total of fifty-four 76.2 mm mountain guns.
Altogether, that came to a full 270 artillery pieces.
In this era, that was already an extremely powerful concentration of firepower.
In particular, the Caucasus Military District's guns were all barrel-recoil guns, with a rate of fire at least three times that of the old carriage-recoil guns.
This led the Kazan defenders to believe for a time that the rebels had massed over a thousand guns to bombard them.
The defenders' positions were blanketed by fierce artillery fire one after another. Their fortifications, already as flimsy as crumbling tofu, were blasted to pieces.
The defenders stationed in those positions suffered even heavier casualties.
The bombardment also made General Afanasiy Klyuchin, commander of the Kazan Military District, and General Vladimir Kosel, commander of the Orenburg Military District, turn pale.
"God! Weren't we told that only a few tens of thousands of rebels had arrived? Why have they brought so much artillery into action? Even all the guns in the Kazan Military District and Orenburg Military District combined don't come to a thousand, do they?" A trace of fear flashed in General Afanasiy Klyuchin's eyes.
General Vladimir Kosel shook his head. "I don't know how many guns the Kazan Military District has. But the entire Orenburg Military District has only a little over two hundred guns of 76.2 mm caliber or larger."
"It's much the same here in the Kazan Military District!" General Afanasiy Klyuchin replied.
"It seems the rebels are far stronger than we anticipated. We vastly underestimated their strength! I'm afraid the battle ahead won't be easy!"
General Vladimir Kosel was deeply regretful.
He had originally remained neutral, but Grand Duke Nicholas had threatened him: if he did not side with the imperial government, he would surely be called to account once it had crushed Grand Duke Mikhail's rebels.
Grand Duke Nicholas had also promised that, once the rebels were crushed, he could transfer him to a post in the Huasha Military District or the Mosk Military District.
That was far better than staying in Orenburg.
And so General Vladimir Kosel had been tempted and had thrown in his lot with Grand Duke Nicholas.
But he had never expected that this would land him aboard a pirate ship!
The kind he couldn't get off once he had boarded.
If he could take it back, General Vladimir Kosel would never get involved again.
Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret in this world.
The Caucasus Military District's artillery preparation lasted half a day.
The fierce bombardment nearly plowed over the defenders' positions several times.
Such a plentiful artillery preparation was absolutely unprecedented.
Of course, for the defenders, it was undoubtedly deadly.
Not only were their defensive positions blown to pieces, but their casualties were also extremely heavy.
On top of that, Russian soldiers generally had very fragile fighting spirit.
After enduring such a fierce bombardment, their will to fight was already on the verge of collapse.
If not for the blocking units that had set up Maxim Heavy Machine Guns behind the positions, ready to riddle anyone who dared flee with bullets.
The defending soldiers could therefore only remain huddled in their battered positions, praying that no shells would land on them.
"All units, attack according to plan! Order the 7th Cavalry Brigade to circle east of Kazan, cut the railway line, and sever the link between the Kazan Military District and the Orenburg Military District!"
Major General Viktor Sakharov ordered.
"Yes, General!" Oleg immediately relayed the orders.
The infantry regiments of the Caucasus Military District's 1st Infantry Division, 3rd Infantry Division, and 7th Infantry Division immediately launched their attack on the Kazan defenders' positions according to the established plan.
At the same time, the 7th Cavalry Brigade also began to move.
At present, less than half the Orenburg Military District's troops had reached Kazan. The remaining troops were still being transported by rail.
Once the railway line was cut, it would be very difficult for the Orenburg Military District's remaining troops to reach Kazan.
The difficulty Grand Duke Mikhail's forces faced in taking Kazan would also be greatly reduced.
"Attack!"
The commanders at the front gave the order to attack one after another.
Unit after unit began its advance.
Under cover of their own firepower, the soldiers attacked the enemy positions in skirmish lines.