The first thousand five hundred and eighty-six chapters of the enemy cavalry attack
Hundreds of kilometers away in Hami, Ulihan frowned!
Since the Tang Army left Jiayuguan, he learned the news immediately. Later, he continued to send reconnaissance cavalry to monitor the main force of the Tang Army leaving the pass, and initially found out that the main force included two cavalry corps and one infantry corps.
The total strength reached 70,000 to 80,000 men, half of whom were cavalry.
This news greatly surprised Wulihan at the time, because the Tang army that went out to fight in previous years was usually only about 10,000 people, and sometimes it was only 30,000 or 40,000.
But this year, the number of Tang troops leaving the city reached 70,000 to 80,000, which is abnormal.
For this reason, he was very cautious. Although he continued to send out reconnaissance cavalry, he had no intention of sending out the main force to fight.
He planned to let the reconnaissance cavalry find out the Tang army's supply lines, and after the Tang army had penetrated hundreds of miles, he would send cavalry troops to make a detour and then attack their supply lines.
By continuously attacking their supply lines and then forcing them to retreat.
Of course, you can actually stand still and not even attack the supply lines, just hide in Hami City and watch them crawl slowly on the Gobi Desert.
Even if the Tatars did not attack the long supply line of hundreds of kilometers, they would not be able to maintain it for long, and it would be impossible for them to use a large number of heavy artillery and massive artillery shells to attack the city of Hami.
Over time, especially when winter is approaching, they will recede on their own.
To put it bluntly, Wulihan and the others were able to defend Hami City not because of the army, but because of the terrain and climate.
The vast Gobi desert and desert, as well as the large amount of no man's land, are their best defensive weapons!
Of course, if the Tang Army wanted to, it could actually attack Hami City through cavalry units with good mobility, but Hami City was not something that cavalry units could capture.
After all, it is a bastion fortification. Without the support of a large number of heavy artillery, it is impossible to capture Hami City.
But now, Wulihan felt danger.
Because the reconnaissance cavalry reported that behind the 70,000 to 80,000 troops of the Tang Dynasty, there were still tens of thousands of people following them. However, those tens of thousands of people did not go forward, but hid behind to build roads.
What kind of road should be built?
railway!
Wulihan knew about railways, steam engines and trains.
Even though the Tatars do not have any steam engine or railway technology, it does not prevent them from knowing the importance of railways.
The people of the Tang Dynasty actually planned to build a railway all the way there. In this way, the supply problem that had troubled the people of the Tang Dynasty for many years would disappear.
And by that time, Hami City will be really in danger.
Not only Hami City, but also Turpan City and even the entire Western Region may be in danger.
Wulihan knew that what he faced would be a brand-new threat, a threat that he had never faced before.
To this end, he sent an envoy to the rear to inform the friendly forces in Turpan, and reported in detail that the Tang Dynasty was building a railway, and also told the possible serious consequences.
However, not every Tatar general, like Ulihan, had a deeper understanding of the situation in the Tang Dynasty and knew the importance of the railway.
In the minds of many Tatars, the so-called train is just an upgraded version of the carriage. In the past, the carriage could only travel on ordinary roads.
Today's trains run on special rails. There is not much difference between the two. At most, the transportation volume is more expensive and the speed is faster.
Moreover, these Tatars also know that the railway construction of the Tang Dynasty is not easy. They have long known that the Northwest Railway was being built by the Tang Dynasty. However, the Northwest Railway officially started construction in the 19th year of Xuanping, and it was not completed until the autumn of the 27th year of Xuanping.
Completed.
This is the speed of railway construction in the hinterland of the Tang Dynasty. If it were replaced by the Western Regions, the construction speed would probably be greatly reduced.
What's more, if a railway is built in the Western Regions that is hundreds or even thousands of kilometers long, this railway will be full of loopholes for the Tatars. They will randomly send a group of cavalry to sneak along the railway line.
, lay explosives for a blast.
Bang, the railroad is doomed!
Therefore, although the Tatars knew the importance of trains, they were not too worried.
They quickly made the necessary responses.
Wulihan began to select relatively elite soldiers to form a small group of elite railway-destroying troops, preparing to destroy the Tang Dynasty's railways.
I have to say that Wulihan’s approach is quite correct.
Although railways have many benefits, they are still afraid of vandalism.
Once the railway is damaged, even if the repair ability is relatively strong, it will still take time, which will affect the transportation efficiency.
However, this is also the reason why Lu Yuzhi put out both cavalry armies!
The two most elite cavalry troops were placed at the front, not to attack the enemy, but to protect the railway construction team and railway lines in the rear.
If the railway attack troops sent by Wulihan want to sneak in, they need to break through the blockade of the Tang Dynasty cavalry troops.
In addition, Lu Yuzhi also set up special protection measures in the rear.
Although the Fourteenth Army is currently building roads, according to his planned plan, the Fourteenth Army will still be used to protect the railway line. When building a section of railway, the Fourteenth Army will leave part of its troops to garrison to protect the railway.
In order to protect the railway, Lu Yuzhi also mobilized a large number of armed trains and engineering support vehicles from China to patrol and repair the railway lines at any time.
In the early and middle stages of this Western Expedition, the battle between the two sides will most likely revolve around the construction and destruction of railways. As for large-scale outdoor battles, as long as the Tatars are not stupid, they will not break out.
Among the several railway sabotage forces dispatched by Ulihan, one was a sabotage force composed of about 700 cavalry. Although there were only 700 cavalry, they were all fast mobile troops riding three horses alone.
With excellent mobility, they adopted a long-distance detour strategy, successfully avoiding the blockade of Datang's main cavalry, and then approached from the south.
On June 27, in a zinc valley about 30 kilometers away from Jiayuguan, this previously uninhabited valley was crowded with more than 2,000 horses and 700 knights.
These were the Tatar railway sabotage troops that had been detouring for many days. The leader was a middle-aged man with an old face, a little short, but extremely stout.
This person's clothing is also a new type of military uniform that has only been implemented by the Tatars for a few years. Although it is said to be a new type of military uniform, it is actually the traditional clothing of the Tatars, but the style and color have relatively strict rules.
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His clothes all indicate that he is a colonel on the Tatar side. This military rank is not considered low whether on the Tatar side or on the Tang side.
Because the Tatar army's military establishment and military ranks are basically modeled on those of the Tang Dynasty Army.
The rank of colonel is already the top among mid-level officers. In field troops, they usually serve as the commander of the main infantry regiment or the commander of the main cavalry regiment.
The Tatar cavalry unit is also a typical cavalry regiment!
In the cavalry establishment of the Tang Army, a standard cavalry regiment consisted of 800 cavalry, whether it was a divisional cavalry regiment or a field cavalry regiment, a light cavalry regiment or a heavy cavalry regiment.
The Tatars are also Datong Xu, and their cavalry troops also have cavalry regiments, also with a size of seven to eight hundred people.
Of course, the Tatars have many horses. Almost all cavalry units ride three horses alone, and some may even have four or five horses.
For example, in those cavalry units that conquered Europe in the West, an elite cavalry team often had four or five horses to ensure the attack speed and the physical fitness of the knights and war horses. The horses could also serve as military rations when necessary.
On the Eastern Front, because the Tatars mostly engage in defensive operations and do not have much demand for mobile operations, the cavalry units have fewer horses.
After arriving here quietly, this Tatar cavalry unit did not rush to the railway line more than ten kilometers away, but rested in this zinc valley all night.
Near dawn the next day, when the sky was still dark, they left the canyon one after another. They wanted to take advantage of the dawn period to advance quickly, and then fight to the railway line to destroy the Tang Dynasty railway.
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In order to maintain speed and maintain the physical fitness of the soldiers, although the Tatars started on foot, when the darkness before dawn completely broke and the sky began to turn white, the leading Tatar cavalry colonel had already ordered the knights to ride.
Get on the spare horse and move forward.
Time passed bit by bit, and when they were still about eight kilometers away from the railway line, the Tatar cavalry colonel once again ordered to transfer to the second spare horse, leaving a few people to guard the exhausted part.
Spare horses and other baggage, etc.
The vast majority of people rode on their spare horses and continued to move forward with their horses on the bridge!
Although their speed is not fast, even at normal walking speed, they can walk four or five kilometers in one incline.
Therefore, when the sky started to turn red and the red sun could be seen rising from the horizon, they were already less than six kilometers away from the railway line.
At the same time, several of Datang's reconnaissance cavalry also ran quickly towards the camp!
They had discovered the traces of this Tatar group more than ten minutes ago, and then quickly ran to the rear. They wanted to report the news as soon as possible.
Five minutes later, as soon as he got up, Bi Zhi'an, who was freshening up, received an urgent report. About five kilometers away, a Tatar cavalry was heading towards the railway line.
Tatar cavalry?
It’s only five kilometers away!
How did they break through the layers of defense lines of friendly forces and then run to their own railway line!
Damn it, did the cavalrymen of the two cavalry corps all sleep yesterday?
Bi Zhian was frightened at the first moment and couldn't help but start to complain.
It's not fun to be attacked by hundreds of enemy cavalry!
At this time, he didn't care about grooming, and he directly gave the order loudly: "The enemy cavalry is attacking, the whole battalion is preparing for battle!"