The Risk of Defeat

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

On the evening of May 7, after nightfall, Grand Duke Mikhail's troops stopped their attack.

But the bombardment continued.

Both the army's artillery and the Volga River Fleet fired furiously, as if shells cost nothing.

Shells kept slamming into Kazan's urban district and exploding.

Buildings in the city were blown apart in the violent blasts.

House after house collapsed, and street after street was blasted into rubble.

The defenders stationed in the city also suffered heavy casualties under the fierce bombardment.

General Afanasiy Klyuchin, commander of the Kazan Military District, and General Vladimir Kosel, commander of the Orenburg Military District, had already taken shelter in an underground command post.

Unless Grand Duke Mikhail's troops brought heavy artillery into play, their safety was assured.

But the troops aboveground were suffering terribly.

Both men could not help worrying.

"His Grace really does have deep pockets! Is he planning to blow every last one of us to death with shells?" General Vladimir Kosel's voice was full of bitterness.

"His Majesty the old tsar left Grand Duke Mikhail far too much wealth. The Baku Oil Field alone could give His Grace more money than he could ever spend.

"Unfortunately, that money has now been turned into shells and is raining down on our heads."

General Afanasiy Klyuchin felt deeply aggrieved.

"Then what should we do next? More and more rebels are arriving at Kazan. The railway line to the east has also been cut by the rebels. The Orenburg Military District's remaining troops can no longer reinforce Kazan.

"With only the troops we've assembled in Kazan now, I'm afraid it will be extremely difficult to hold off the rebel attack."

General Vladimir Kosel could not help feeling worried.

He was deeply pessimistic about the course of the battle to come.

"Let's report the situation here to His Grace Grand Duke Nicholas. We've done our best. If we really can't hold out, there's nothing more we can do," General Afanasiy Klyuchin suggested.

General Vladimir Kosel nodded repeatedly.

Although they had sided with Grand Duke Nicholas,

but that did not mean they had to fight to the death for Grand Duke Nicholas.

Once the situation became irretrievable, they could surrender at any time.

Leaving everything else aside, at least they would have no trouble saving their own lives.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The artillery under Grand Duke Mikhail and the guns of the Volga River Fleet fired with tremendous ferocity, turning the entire urban district of Kazan into ruins at a pace visible to the naked eye.

The defenders' fortifications in the city were being destroyed along with it, as was their will to fight.

If this went on, perhaps it would not be long before the defenders collapsed on their own.

Moscow, the Kremlin.

Grand Duke Nicholas had established his headquarters right there.

Of course, he hoped even more that one day he could hold his coronation there and become the new tsar of the Tsarist Russian Empire.

Lieutenant General Kuropatkin, the acting minister of war, remained in Petersburg to oversee the procurement of military supplies and other materials.

General Nikolai Obruchev, the chief of the general staff, had come to Moscow with Grand Duke Nicholas to command the army.

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, commander of the Mosk Military District and governor-general of Moscow; General Pavel Shuvalov, commander of the Huasha Military District; General Alexander Dobrorozhsky, commander of the Vilna Military District; and others had also come to Moscow.

They were all senior military officers who had sided with Grand Duke Nicholas.

If Grand Duke Mikhail won the civil war, one could imagine what would become of them.

Naturally, then, they hoped Grand Duke Nicholas would win the civil war, and they would do everything in their power to support him.

"Your Grace, Kazan has come under attack by the rebels.

"The rebels assembled more than a hundred thousand elite troops and launched a fierce attack on Kazan. They also brought the Volga River Fleet into action.

"The current situation is extremely unfavorable for Kazan's defenders.

"The rebels' firepower is devastating, and our frontline troops have suffered heavy losses.

"In just one day, the entire defensive line on Kazan's outskirts has fallen.

"The defenders were forced to abandon the area outside the city and plan to hold out inside it.

"But even now, the rebels are still subjecting Kazan to a fierce bombardment.

"The entire urban district of Kazan is being blasted into ruins, bit by bit.

"The defenders have suffered heavy losses. General Afanasiy Klyuchin and General Vladimir Kosel hope we can send troops to reinforce them.

"Otherwise, I'm afraid Kazan's defenders won't be able to hold out much longer."

General Nikolai Obruchev addressed the assembled officers.

Grand Duke Nicholas could not help knitting his brows tightly.

He had originally thought that, even if the combined forces of the Kazan Military District and Orenburg Military District were no match for the main rebel army led by Grand Duke Mikhail, they should have had no trouble holding out for a while.

Once they had surrounded and annihilated the rebels led by General Brusilov, they could assemble their main forces for a final, decisive battle against Grand Duke Mikhail.

But now it seemed the rebels were far stronger than he had imagined.

"The rebels have large numbers of artillery pieces and a great many heavy machine guns. Every one of them is even equipped with a Mosin–Nagant rifle.

"By comparison, only a few of our elite units are equipped with Mosin–Nagant rifles. Most of our troops still carry Berdan rifles."

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich reminded them.

The Mosin–Nagant rifle was excellent: simple to manufacture and reliable, and capable of firing normally even in the cold.

But the Tsarist Russian Empire's poor military production capacity had made the re-equipment of its troops very slow.

As a result, most troops were still using the old Berdan rifle.

It was a single-shot rifle that used black powder.

Even in another timeline, during the Tsarist Russian Empire's war with the Japanese a few years later, many Russian units in the Far East were still primarily equipped with Berdan rifles.

That showed just how poor the Russian army's weapons and equipment were.

"Gentlemen, the rebels are stronger than we expected. We must deal with them as soon as possible. Otherwise, the longer this drags on, the worse it will be for us," Grand Duke Nicholas told the assembled officers.

Even though the troops under Grand Duke Mikhail were a formidable fighting force,

things had come to this, and Grand Duke Nicholas had no way back. Nor could he retreat at this point.

The other Russian generals all wore grave expressions as well.

They had already chosen to side with Grand Duke Nicholas and had no chance to go back on that choice, even if there now seemed to be a risk of defeat. But what choice did they have except to follow that road to the bitter end?

"Has General Brusilov responded?" Grand Duke Nicholas asked.

As soon as the civil war broke out, Grand Duke Nicholas had sent someone to contact General Brusilov, hoping he would betray Grand Duke Mikhail.

To that end, Grand Duke Nicholas had not hesitated to promise him high office and generous rewards.

If General Brusilov betrayed him, it would be a fatal blow to Grand Duke Mikhail.