"Worthy of being Jomini’s mentor, the plan has been perfected so quickly!"

Grand Duke Mikhail couldn’t help but express his admiration, and Alexander II nodded gently in agreement.

"Your Highness, Grand Duke! Shall we go over and take a look now?" Commander Gorchakov suggested.

"Alright!" Alexander II said softly.

Thus, Alexander II, Grand Duke Mikhail, and Gorchakov all rose and made their way to the Staff Department near the old Royal Palace in Bakhchisaray.

When Alexander II and the others arrived at the Staff Department, Marshal Jomini was pointing with a pen at a map of the Crimea Peninsula, explaining something to the surrounding staff members.

"Master Jomini!" Grand Duke Mikhail shouted loudly.

Marshal Jomini slowly raised his head, a look of surprise on his face, and smiled, saying: "Grand Duke, Your Highness, you have come!"

"As soon as we heard that the mentor had perfected the plan, we hurried over without delay! Please tell us about your plan!" Grand Duke Mikhail eagerly said to Marshal Jomini.

"Yes, Marshal!" Gorchakov also spoke up.

Upon the joint request of Grand Duke Mikhail and Gorchakov, Marshal Jomini began to explain the plan he had devised.

Since the Russian Empire has approximately 260,000 troops on the Crimea Peninsula, purely in terms of numbers, they completely outweigh the Allied Forces. Therefore, Jomini planned to launch attacks on multiple points against the Allied Forces, making it impossible for them to support each other. Only in this way could they seize the opportunity to defeat them.

(Here, it must be mentioned that Marshal Jomini himself had no hope for a Russian Empire victory. He only hoped that the Russian Empire could accumulate some tactical victories on the Crimea Peninsula and inflict a certain degree of casualties on England and France.

Only then would England and France be willing to sit down and negotiate with the Russian Empire.)

The focus of the initial attack would be around the Joya River and Inkman Mountain.

"Why these two places?" Mikhail questioned Jomini in confusion, then pointed at the Yevpatoria Town and said, "Shouldn’t we occupy this place first?"

"Grand Duke! According to intelligence from the reconnaissance cavalry we dispatched near Yevpatoria, in recent times, Yevpatoria has not only increased its troop numbers and built trenches but also stationed naval cannons at the Yevpatoria Town’s port! A rash attack would only result in heavy losses for us!" Jomini explained to Mikhail.

Subsequently, Jomini explained to Mikhail that the reason for concentrating the attack around the Joya River and Inkman Mountain was to pin down the England and France forces.

"What happens after they are pinned down?" Mikhail continued to ask.

Jomini further explained to Mikhail that as long as the Allies believed that the Russian Empire was opting for a direct assault on Sevastopol, the Russian Empire could secretly lead a force using the cover of night from Saki, along the coast, bypassing the Kach River to reach near the North Shore of Sevastopol.

Once the troops reached the North Shore of Sevastopol, the forces from Bakhchisaray would also move out, launching a strong attack on the Star Fortress.

At that time, the forces on the North Shore would be attacked from three directions.

If luck was on their side, they could directly capture the North Shore.

Mikhail expressed his concern and asked how they should deal with the naval cannons at Sevastopol Port.

Facing Mikhail’s inquiry, Jomini fell into silence, then bitterly smiled and told Mikhail that this raiding force could not even withstand the coastal batteries, let alone the naval cannons inside Sevastopol Port.

"Then why are we sending them to die in vain?" Mikhail instinctively asked.

Everyone present fell into silence. Soon, Mikhail understood that this war was not the one they wanted; it was a war imposed upon them by his father, Nicholas I.

From a rational standpoint, they could not capture either Sevastopol or Yevpatoria.

"I will immediately write to His Majesty the Emperor to explain the situation here! I believe His Majesty will understand!" Mikhail’s thoughts gradually aligned with Alexander II.

Alexander II gently told Mikhail that he had already explained the situation on the Crimea Peninsula to Nicholas I, but their father stubbornly insisted on attacking.

Mikhail also realized that if persuasion were useful, he wouldn’t be here.

Clearly, their father was no longer listening to any persuasion.

"And then?" Mikhail said weakly.

He could already foresee that this Russian Empire operation was very likely to fail, yet despite this, they had to grit their teeth and continue.

Because Jomini’s plan was the most feasible one among all the plans.

"If our army breaks through the North Shore, then the French Empire on the South Shore will surely reinforce the North Shore! At that time, we will launch an all-out attack here!" Jomini pointed his finger towards Yevpatoria Town.

"You just said that the defenses here are rigorous and that a rash attack would lead to heavy losses for our troops!" Mikhail said with a puzzled expression.

"Your Highness, the defenses at Sevastopol are even stronger!" Jomini replied to Mikhail helplessly.

Currently, the Russian Imperial Army has no luxury of choice; they can only attempt to take a bite out of the Allies.

...

Thus, the hopeful Mikhail, after hearing Marshal Jomini’s plan, felt a sense of confusion and helplessness.

He understood that the plan was based entirely on the assumption that the Allied Forces were fools, but the Allied Forces were not foolish. They also had veteran generals like his teacher Jomini, who had emerged from that legendary era (Marshal Lagren).

Nevertheless, they had no other options.

...

September 3, 1854.

The temperature on the Crimea Peninsula gradually dropped with the onset of September. A sudden autumn rain and a letter of urging from St. Petersburg compelled Gorchakov and others at Bakhchisaray to decide to engage in battle.

September 4, 5 a.m.

The Russian Fourth Army, led by Soyilov, and the Fifth Army (60,000 men, 200 cannons), along with Pallov’s troops (40,000 men, 128 cannons), set out from Simferopol and Bakhchisaray, respectively, arriving at Inkman Mountain and near the Jonaya River close to Sevastopol Port around 5:30 a.m.

Meanwhile, Alexander II and Gorchakov, stationed at Saki, led a force of 30,000 men from Saki towards Yevpatoria Town.

As for the remaining 130,000 troops, 100,000 were personally led by Jomini, deployed in Saki and Bakhchisaray, ready to support as needed.

At six in the morning, Sevastopol and Yevpatoria were simultaneously subjected to artillery attacks by the Russian Empire.

Inkman Mountain Left Wing.

The Sardinian Second Division, allied with the French Army for defense, never expected to experience a surprise strike of "righteousness from the heavens."

When the barrage of shells rained down on the heights guarded by Sardinia, the enormous explosions startled the soldiers of the Second Division from their trenches and tents.

The Sardinian soldiers sleeping in tents hurriedly dressed and rushed out, scurrying around like headless flies, throwing the entire camp into chaos.

Soldiers in the trenches quickly pressed their bodies against the earthworks, observing enemy movements.

However, they did not see the enemy, only hearing the booming artillery and the screams of their comrades.

From the current situation, it appeared that the Russian Army did not intend to attack immediately.

About 20 minutes after the shelling began, Marshal La Malamor, commander of the Sardinian Expeditionary Force, appeared in the trenches and immediately found the second division commander, Oliver Kaine, to inquire about the casualties.

"The casualty figures are not yet clear!" a dusty Oliver Kaine replied, lowering his head to La Malamor.

"How do you even carry out your duties as a division commander!" La Malamor shouted in anger, then asked Oliver Kaine if he knew the enemy’s location.

Oliver Kaine shook his head in bafflement, further enraging La Malamor. Pointing at Oliver Kaine, he ordered, "Stop squatting here, immediately lead two Hunter Battalions (each battalion with roughly 500 to 800 men, among Sardinia’s elite units) to search for the Russian forces! If you can’t find them, I’ll have you stripped of your uniform!"

"Yes!" commanded, Oliver Kaine quickly escaped from La Malamor’s side, finding two battalion commanders on the other side of the trench.

"Take your soldiers and follow me!" Oliver Kaine said straightforwardly to them, without wasting words.

The two battalion commanders decisively gathered their soldiers, and about 10 minutes later, a squad of nearly a thousand men spread out and advanced toward the artillery direction.

Soon, they encountered a group of soldiers in gray uniforms, holding rifles and climbing upwards.

Enemy!

Upon seeing the gray uniforms, the soldiers of the Hunter Battalion immediately recognized them as troops of the Russian Empire. (In this era, literacy rates were low, and language barriers existed at the lower levels. Soldiers could only identify enemies or friends by their uniforms.)

Before Oliver Kaine could give an order, the riflemen of the Hunter Battalion proactively stopped, using the dense foliage as cover, and aimed at the Russian Army approximately 400 meters away.

The Russian Army in the distance also noticed the green-coated enemies. The brigadier general commanding this vanguard unit raised his saber and shouted, "Ura!"

The surrounding Russian Imperial soldiers echoed with cries of "Ura," charging towards the direction of Sardinia’s troops.