The Ottoman Empire Invades

In another time and place, General Brusilov was unquestionably a master of the offensive.

During the First World War, he had nearly brought the Austro-Hungarian Empire to collapse in a single campaign.

Of course, both the Tsarist Russian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were rubbish, and their armies' fighting power was feeble. Or rather, it was a case of two rookie chickens pecking at each other.

But General Brusilov's ability was beyond question.

In defensive warfare, however, General Brusilov might have been somewhat lacking.

The Caucasus Military District's troops, however, were not only well equipped but also more tenacious in their will to fight. Their overall fighting strength was beyond anything the Russian army could match.

In defensive operations especially, the Caucasus Military District's troops could make even better use of their advantage in firepower.

Under those circumstances, one could imagine how difficult it would be for the Russian army to annihilate the more than 100,000 men under General Brusilov's command.

Grand Duke Nicholas wanted to accomplish that goal in the shortest possible time, which undoubtedly made it even harder.

"Send a telegram to His Imperial Highness. Our forces are under siege by the enemy's main force. All units have now shifted to defensive operations. Our army is confident it can withstand the enemy's siege!" General Brusilov ordered.

"Yes, General!" The adjutant immediately went to send the telegram.

Though faced with a siege by the enemy's main force, General Brusilov was neither afraid nor overly nervous.

General Brusilov knew full well that the enemy had deployed quite a few elite troops.

But he had confidence in the troops he commanded and believed they would be able to withstand the enemy's massive assault in the fighting to come.

After receiving General Brusilov's telegram, Grand Duke Mikhail could not help smiling.

"Does my dear cousin think General Brusilov is easy to deal with? He actually gathered his main force to surround and attack the troops under General Brusilov's command.

"He even wants General Brusilov to betray me.

"I really don't know what's going on inside his head!"

Grand Duke Mikhail shook his head repeatedly.

"Your Imperial Highness, since the enemy's main force has gathered at Ryazan, that means they won't have any troops to reinforce Kazan. We can commit more troops to the attack."

Major General Viktor Sakharov made the suggestion.

Grand Duke Mikhail nodded. "Order the follow-up troops to join the attack in succession. We must take Kazan within three days!"

"Yes, Your Imperial Highness!" Major General Viktor Sakharov replied.

If possible, Grand Duke Mikhail naturally hoped to end the civil war in the shortest possible time.

The longer the civil war dragged on, the more damage it would do to the Tsarist Russian Empire as a whole.

At the same time, with outside powers eyeing them like tigers stalking their prey, the threat would grow greater as well.

Only by ending the civil war as quickly as possible could they prevent other hostile countries from eyeing them like tigers stalking their prey.

On Grand Duke Mikhail's orders, more and more troops joined the attack on Kazan.

The troops of the Kazan Military District and the Orenburg Military District gathered in Kazan were even less able to withstand them.

Urban street fighting, generally speaking, was extremely brutal.

For the attacking side in particular, fighting in unfamiliar territory while using their bodies of flesh and blood to assault prepared defensive lines, it was understandable that casualties would be enormous.

In another time and place, the Third Reich had suffered greatly from street fighting on the Eastern Front.

Fortunately, the forces Grand Duke Mikhail now faced were not elite troops of that caliber.

Moreover, the Caucasus Military District had long included urban street fighting in its regular training and had devoted considerable effort to improving it.

On top of that, Grand Duke Mikhail's troops had a very clear advantage in weapons and equipment.

As a result, the street fighting in the Battle of Kazan, on which Generals Afanasiy Klyuchin and Vladimir Kappel had pinned high hopes, not only failed to stop the ferocious enemy assault but instead saw them driven back at every turn.

The troops' losses continued to soar.

Their morale had also suffered an extremely heavy blow.

This made the situation in the Battle of Kazan increasingly unfavorable for the Russian army.

At the same time, the main force under Grand Duke Nicholas launched a fierce attack on the troops led by General Brusilov.

Troops from the Huasha Military District, the Vilna Military District and the Petersburg Military District, along with the Guards, were continuously committed to the attack.

Although they held a considerable numerical advantage, they failed to make any progress in actual combat.

Instead, they smashed themselves bloody against the Caucasus Military District troops' defensive lines.

The civil war in the Tsarist Russian Empire grew ever fiercer as the two sides fought on a massive scale, leaving more countries watching the war itching to make a move.

Abdul Hamid II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, could no longer sit still.

On his orders, Ottoman Empire Chief of the General Staff Kör Ahmed Pasha personally led an army of 100,000 from Van and launched an attack on the southern Caucasus.

At the same time, Abdul Hamid II issued a mobilization order, directing the War Ministry to mobilize another 500,000 men for the coming war.

Abdul Hamid II saw an opportunity to profit. He therefore planned to commit more troops and seize the entire southern Caucasus.

Once the civil war in the Tsarist Russian Empire was decided, the Ottoman Empire would probably be unlikely to have another such opportunity.

The Ottoman Empire of today was no longer the mighty empire that had once dominated all of Europe.

Kör Ahmed Pasha was not only the Ottoman Empire's chief of the general staff but also Abdul Hamid II's military adviser, and he enjoyed the sultan's deep trust.

Abdul Hamid II was also a sultan of great ambition, determined to restore the Ottoman Empire's former glory.

To that end, he had steadily increased military spending over the years.

The Ottoman Empire Army in particular had not only purchased large quantities of weapons and equipment from the German Empire but had also hired many German Empire military instructors to train its troops.

This had indeed brought an obvious improvement in the Ottoman Empire Army's fighting power.

The Ottoman Empire's leadership therefore had high hopes for this war. They hoped the Ottoman Empire Army would sweep forward like a blade splitting bamboo, easily defeat the Russian army and take the entire southern Caucasus.

Unfortunately, the news that soon arrived from the battlefield left the Ottoman Empire's entire leadership dumbstruck.

Abdul Hamid II found the outcome especially hard to accept. He felt as though someone had slapped his face swollen.