CHAPTER 550: CHAPTER 542: THE FALL OF SEVASTOPOL

June 6, 1854, Sevastopol.

Gray clouds hung over the city about to fall, a dense drizzle falling from the sky brought a hint of coolness to this city that had been hot for a long time.

In such weather, a large army marched south in the rain, composed of the French Guard Division and the British Guard Division, aimed for the South Shore of Sevastopol.

The reason they pushed on through the rain towards the South Shore of Sevastopol lay in two letters from Brigadier General Troch yesterday.

The first letter was delivered to the headquarters yesterday afternoon, in which Brigadier General Troch claimed to have chased the Russian Empire’s troops with his forces, then casually killed Vice Admiral Kornilov and occupied a fort on the South Shore of Sevastopol.

This news brought great joy to Marshal Saint Arno and Pellissier, prompting them to immediately respond to Brigadier General Troch, ordering him to hold the fort at all costs until the main forces arrived.

However, considering that Troch on the South Shore did not set out with artillery or heavy weaponry, defending might be somewhat strenuous.

To ease the burden on the South Shore and weaken the North Shore’s defense, General Pelissey launched an attack on the North Shore, while simultaneously dispatching naval forces to indiscriminately bombard the Sevastopol Port.

According to Pellissier’s concept, the French Empire was showing a full-scale attack stance on the North Shore, expecting the Russian defenders on the South Shore to help their "brothers" on the North Shore relieve some of the pressure.

Unexpectedly, throughout the battle, the Russian troops on the South Shore did not make any moves, as if they had already abandoned the North Shore.

Sure enough, under the strong assault of the French Army, the First Division took only two hours to occupy the North Shore, then advanced triumphantly into the residential area, incidentally giving the residents a "friendly" visit.

When news of Conrobel’s occupation reached the headquarters, aside from Pellissier and Marshal Saint Arno, the remaining three headquarters members were pleased (even Commander Largren, secretly worried, outwardly celebrated with the French victory).

As time moved toward 11 PM, Brigadier General Troch’s second letter appeared, stating that the Russian Empire’s army was now launching a fierce assault on the fort he occupied, with hundreds of cannons (mostly dismantled from naval guns) aimed at bombarding the fort.

If not for the cannons left by the retreating Russian Empire defending the fort, Troch’s forces might have retreated under the first wave of assaults by the Russian Empire.

Even so, the defense was exceedingly difficult, forcing many soldiers to dig trenches under Russian artillery to expand the fort’s defensive range.

Within the four-plus hours from the Russian attack’s start to Brigadier General Troch’s letter, the British and French Armies’ death toll reached around 500.

The total number of Troch’s forces was only about 5000, with nearly a tenth of them lost, proving how fierce the Russian Empire’s assault was.

Thus, Pellissier and Marshal Saint Arno hurried to call Commander Largren for a joint strategy meeting.

At Commander Largren’s suggestion, the four-country forces split into two routes to commence action.

The British and French Armies dispatched agile forces from Sevastopol’s North Shore to arrive at the South Shore, while the Sardinian and Turkish troops sent small forces by sea to Kara Yan Na Port to support Brigadier General Troch.

This arrangement obviously did not make Troch’s position the main attack direction but a pawn to contain the Russian troops.

The small Sardinian and Turkish forces merely served to ensure Troch held the fort, while the real main force was the land-moving rapid response unit heading to the South Shore.

From a general common-sense perspective, Commander Largren’s actions seemed superfluous.

After all, a breakthrough already existed; they just needed to expand it.

Yet Largren’s abandonment of this breakthrough seemed a waste of resources.

Was Commander Largren foolish? Of course not! A war hero rising in the Napoleonic era couldn’t suddenly turn senile!

The reason behind Largren’s strategic proposal was military merit!

Since the Crimean War started until now, aside from the Battle of Alma, the Kingdom of Britain’s army had always been carried along.

Whether it was the South Shore breakthrough of Sevastopol or the North Shore attack, it was always a solo show by the French Empire!

This solo performance was excellent for the Ottoman Empire and the Sardinian Kingdom, but for Commander Largren, every solo showcase by the French Empire damaged his political career.

Imagine if The Times extensively covered France’s feats in Crimea, the citizens of London would think of Commander Largren as a general who only talked big, while nobles sending their children to gild their experience would see Largren as a general unable to lead their children to promotions.

By then, Largren would face pressure not just from external public opinion but also from Upper House nobles dissatisfied with him within the government.

Sandwiched between internal and external pressures, Largren would hardly dare even consider serving as Commander-in-Chief if not shielded by the good-hearted people of London.

Unable to bear the pressure of public opinion, Commander Largren had to satisfy Londoners, enabling the army’s noble offspring to gain military honors.

Leading the main force to reinforce Brigadier General Troch was certainly not within Commander Lagren’s considerations. Only by opening up a second battlefield, as in the Battle of Alma, could Britain "dominate."

Of course, Commander Lagren also knew that such a move would lead to France’s dissatisfaction, so he took a step back and proposed that Pellissier be appointed as the commanding officer of the main force, with the Duke of Cambridge assisting.

The French Empire, although resentful of Commander Lagren’s unnecessary action, had no choice but to agree to Lagren’s approach for the sake of the overall situation.

...

The French Guard Division and the British Guard Division set out in the rain around 6 a.m., with quite a number of soldiers falling behind along the way.

Even if someone accidentally fell behind, Pellissier and the Duke of Cambridge still ordered the subsequent troops to forge ahead, leaving those who fell behind to fend for themselves.

With a bit of luck, they might be picked up by the following troops.

With worse luck, they might lose their lives directly.

Pellissier’s task was to urge the two divisions to reach the South Shore as soon as possible.

After more than 10 hours of forced march, the French Guard Division and the British Guard Division finally arrived near the Malakhov Fortress around 4 p.m.

The original force of about thirty thousand soldiers now had only about twenty-five thousand left. Nearly one-sixth of the soldiers were forced to fall behind due to the high-intensity running, most of whom were from the British Guard Division.

At this time, although the sky over Sevastopol had stopped raining, it was still a gloomy haze.

The muddy ground felt as if someone was grabbing your foot with their hand, not allowing you to move forward with each step.

"General Pellissier, shouldn’t we find a village to settle in? We can attack once the weather clears!" The Duke of Cambridge, on horseback, asked General Pellissier beside him.

"No!" General Pellissier shook his head and replied to the Duke of Cambridge, "We must attack as soon as possible!"

"But... we don’t have any heavy weapons in our hands! Attacking now, isn’t it too risky?" The Duke of Cambridge replied worriedly to Pellissier.

"Risky? When is war ever not risky?!" General Pellissier responded with a question, "If you don’t take risks, is it still war?"

"But..." The Duke of Cambridge lowered his voice and gritted his teeth as he said to Pellissier, "I hope you can consider our Commander-in-Chief. We can’t afford to lose too many people, or else it will be hard to answer to the London Government!"

"How about a standard of 500 men? If the British casualties exceed 500, then I’ll retreat immediately!" Pellissier held out five fingers to the Duke of Cambridge.

The Duke of Cambridge thought for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said to Pellissier, "Fine!"

Under Pellissier’s orders, the French Army and the British Army advanced towards Malakhov Fortress around 5 p.m.

At this time, the two thousand Russian Imperial Army troops inside Malakhov Fortress were having dinner.

After the Anglo-French soldiers leaped out of the first trench set by the Russian Empire, the Russian Army inside Malakhov Fortress finally noticed the Anglo-French Army.

"God!"

The Russian Army inside Malakhov Fortress looked in horror at the Anglo-French Alliance in the distance. Even though they had rifles and cannons in their hands, they dared not do anything.

Because there were simply too many Anglo-French troops around Malakhov Fortress, they couldn’t decide which direction to shoot at, let alone the fact that everyone in the Russian Empire was now severely suffering from coalition syndrome.

Seeing the Anglo-French Alliance getting closer, the Russian Imperial soldiers turned and thought of running towards the residential area.

Ten minutes later, the flags of both the British and French Armies were planted over Malakhov Fortress.

For the South Shore of Sevastopol, which was not yet fully fortified, the fall of the core position at Malakhov Fortress meant the complete collapse of the South Shore of the Sevastopol Fortress.

The Russian garrison that fled from Malakhov Fortress reported the fall of the fort to Nasimov, who was planning the next attack, causing Nasimov to freeze in place.

"Sevastopol... is finished!"

On the night of June 6, Vice Admiral Nakhimov of the Russian Empire led his troops to break out.

Unexpectedly, they were ambushed by General Pellissier, who was already prepared. The breakout force of 4,000 men, assembled with much difficulty, was completely wiped out.

Nasimov himself was shot in the face and killed, and the Sevastopol Fortress, which had held out for nearly a year, was declared fallen under the unscrupulous surprise attack of the veteran General Pellissier.