alternatehistory.com
The Lightning
The Lighting
On the 13th of November, with Vladivostok under siege from the sea, and Port Arthur having nearly surrendered, Japanese high command pulled the 119th Infantry Division and 131st Independent Mixed Brigade of the Fourth Army, and ordered them to link up with the entirety of the Second Army, to be under the command of Count Oku Yasukata and make headway towards Vladivostok. Having only just been able to regroup from the battle of Shaho less than a month prior, the Second Army hadn’t fully recovered its losses, and was not at full strength. This did not concern Japanese high command, who believed that the city lacked proper defenses, and could fall within “hours after the first Japanese soldier set foot in the city streets”, as stated by Yasukata.
Though the army was still days away from reaching the city, the Japanese vessels shelling Vladivostok began to pull away for a full rearming. A number of ships had received damage from gun emplacements along the shoreline, where Russian defenders used the cover of night to move their field guns to different positions. Meanwhile, the British cruiser Leviathan was struck in the bow after a small group of Russians, using a paddle boat and a crude spar torpedo, put a 20cm diameter hole roughly a meter above the waterline, forcing Leviathan to return to Japanese dockyards to undergo repairs and ensure no structural damage was done.
With only a handful of ships still remaining, the bombardment of Vladivostok came to an end, and instead a full-scale blockade was put in place to ensure that no trading vessels were able to enter, though almost all of the city’s port had been reduced to rubble, making it useless. Britain, knowing that the window to launch a proper attack before the full onset of winter was soon to close, the forces that would make up the invasion of eastern Russia had finally begun to organize.
With the Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians still preparing their troops to be shipped out, British high command chose to begin utilizing the recently formed divisions from India. Composed mainly of infantry battalions, with a handful of artillery detachments, the “First Indian Force” was organized in Vizagapatam on the 15th of November. The First Indian Force contained the 1st Peshawar, 3rd Lahore, 4th Quetta and 6th Poona divisions, numbering roughly 52,000 men in total. Under the control of none other than Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, the man in charge of the military reforms of India, the First Indian Force left Vizagapatam the following day, steaming towards Fukuoka, their arrival point before landing in Vladivostok.
Meanwhile, the Russians were more than aware of the approach of both the Japanese and British armies. Though badly bloodied by fighting along the railways in Manchuria, the Russian forces began receiving huge numbers of reinforcements traveling along the Siberian railroads. Arriving over two of travel since the British declaration of war, and awkwardly shuffling between mismanaged railways, the Russian army sent a large number of fresh and battle-ready soldiers. The 3rd Grenadier, 4th Infantry, 18th Infantry, 3rd Guards and 2nd Guards Cavalry, numbering well over 70,000 men, had made positions near Vladivostok. Digging in around the outskirts, a huge series of concentric defensive lines overlooked the city on the winding hills and forests. Though not officially given a name, due to their hasty arrival, the Russian defenders were placed under the command of Lieutenant General Aleksei Alekseyevich Brusilov, an experienced commander in the Russo-Turkish war.
Though the defensive lines were well prepared, Brusilov was more than aware of the threat of naval bombardment, and chose to spread his lines apart accordingly. Entrenching was made difficult as the dropping temperatures made the dirt hard, and Brusilov’s men were forced to begin removing trees to use the logs as fortifications. With only a week or two, possibly less, Brusilov waited patiently for his enemy to arrive. Several thousand more Russian troops--some surviving divisions from previous battles in Manchuria--were set to arrive by mid-December.
The British and Japanese had chosen their fight. Russia was ready to respond. Like the arrival of a storm in the distance, the lighting began to flash, but the thunder had yet to be heard.
On the 13th of November, with Vladivostok under siege from the sea, and Port Arthur having nearly surrendered, Japanese high command pulled the 119th Infantry Division and 131st Independent Mixed Brigade of the Fourth Army, and ordered them to link up with the entirety of the Second Army, to be under the command of Count Oku Yasukata and make headway towards Vladivostok. Having only just been able to regroup from the battle of Shaho less than a month prior, the Second Army hadn’t fully recovered its losses, and was not at full strength. This did not concern Japanese high command, who believed that the city lacked proper defenses, and could fall within “hours after the first Japanese soldier set foot in the city streets”, as stated by Yasukata.
Though the army was still days away from reaching the city, the Japanese vessels shelling Vladivostok began to pull away for a full rearming. A number of ships had received damage from gun emplacements along the shoreline, where Russian defenders used the cover of night to move their field guns to different positions. Meanwhile, the British cruiser Leviathan was struck in the bow after a small group of Russians, using a paddle boat and a crude spar torpedo, put a 20cm diameter hole roughly a meter above the waterline, forcing Leviathan to return to Japanese dockyards to undergo repairs and ensure no structural damage was done.
With only a handful of ships still remaining, the bombardment of Vladivostok came to an end, and instead a full-scale blockade was put in place to ensure that no trading vessels were able to enter, though almost all of the city’s port had been reduced to rubble, making it useless. Britain, knowing that the window to launch a proper attack before the full onset of winter was soon to close, the forces that would make up the invasion of eastern Russia had finally begun to organize.
With the Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians still preparing their troops to be shipped out, British high command chose to begin utilizing the recently formed divisions from India. Composed mainly of infantry battalions, with a handful of artillery detachments, the “First Indian Force” was organized in Vizagapatam on the 15th of November. The First Indian Force contained the 1st Peshawar, 3rd Lahore, 4th Quetta and 6th Poona divisions, numbering roughly 52,000 men in total. Under the control of none other than Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, the man in charge of the military reforms of India, the First Indian Force left Vizagapatam the following day, steaming towards Fukuoka, their arrival point before landing in Vladivostok.
Meanwhile, the Russians were more than aware of the approach of both the Japanese and British armies. Though badly bloodied by fighting along the railways in Manchuria, the Russian forces began receiving huge numbers of reinforcements traveling along the Siberian railroads. Arriving over two of travel since the British declaration of war, and awkwardly shuffling between mismanaged railways, the Russian army sent a large number of fresh and battle-ready soldiers. The 3rd Grenadier, 4th Infantry, 18th Infantry, 3rd Guards and 2nd Guards Cavalry, numbering well over 70,000 men, had made positions near Vladivostok. Digging in around the outskirts, a huge series of concentric defensive lines overlooked the city on the winding hills and forests. Though not officially given a name, due to their hasty arrival, the Russian defenders were placed under the command of Lieutenant General Aleksei Alekseyevich Brusilov, an experienced commander in the Russo-Turkish war.
Though the defensive lines were well prepared, Brusilov was more than aware of the threat of naval bombardment, and chose to spread his lines apart accordingly. Entrenching was made difficult as the dropping temperatures made the dirt hard, and Brusilov’s men were forced to begin removing trees to use the logs as fortifications. With only a week or two, possibly less, Brusilov waited patiently for his enemy to arrive. Several thousand more Russian troops--some surviving divisions from previous battles in Manchuria--were set to arrive by mid-December.
The British and Japanese had chosen their fight. Russia was ready to respond. Like the arrival of a storm in the distance, the lighting began to flash, but the thunder had yet to be heard.
- Cytokine Pioneer
- Word Count: 720