Chapter 70: Testing
Rock really didn't know. He might have dum-dum bullets, but he really didn't have grenades.
Around 700 AD, Byzantine soldiers filled ceramic containers with "Greek fire (oil)" and added some caltrops to them, relying on the caltrops flying around after the ceramic containers exploded to cause damage to the enemy. This is the earliest record of grenades.
The British actually had hand grenades. Don’t forget that the song accompanying the Thin Red Line was the “March of the British Grenadiers”, and the “grenadiers” here used hand grenades.
After entering the 19th century, with the development of guns and artillery and the reduction of castle attack and defense battles, hand grenades were once neglected. It was not until the First World War that hand grenades were widely used due to the rise of trenches. Therefore, during the Second Boer War, the British army really had no grenades.
In fact, it doesn’t matter whether there are any or not. Even if there are, the commandos probably won’t get them. They don’t even give them dum-dum bullets, and they still want grenades?
Dream on!
But it doesn't matter. Even though there are no grenades, there are explosives everywhere. Rock asked Henry to find some explosives, wrap them in a cut canvas raincoat, and reinforce them with leg bands. They are simple explosive packs. The power of these explosive packs is almost the same as that of grenades.
"Henry, we will have ten minutes of fire preparation before the attack. I plan to launch a tentative attack first to find the Boers' firepower points, then suppress them and launch a roundabout attack. Remember, suppress the Boers' firepower points." Rock still divided the work with Henry. Anyway, it was still early before the sun set, so there was plenty of time.
"I will try my best to prepare the firepower. You be careful. If it doesn't work, don't force it. This bastard wants to kill us. As long as we pass this level, I will make him pay." Henry gritted his teeth. He also had experience in colonial service and knew the importance of fire cover.
Of course, Rock didn't do anything with the infantry-artillery coordination and barrage follow-up. That was too high-end and the commandos couldn't do it, nor could they coordinate with the artillery units. After all, the artillery units were not their own people and might cause "accidental injuries".
It is enough to have firepower preparation. The British have never been stingy in this regard. They have a lot of artillery shells. If the Boers can be killed with artillery shells, the British will probably be happy to use this method.
Twenty minutes later, Rock, Anton and the invisible Stanley led less than a hundred commandos to the attack starting position, waiting for firepower strikes from the rear.
"Stanley, take your men on a tentative attack later. Don't go too forward. Shoot from a distance to lure the Boer machine guns to open fire. Then we will advance to the back of the slope at two o'clock. That is the Boers' blind spot for shooting. After the artillery has cleared the Boers' firepower points, we will launch the attack." Rock carefully observed the terrain and used his limited military knowledge to make his arrangements as careful as possible.
It was enough. At least Rock's limited military knowledge was much more than Anton had imagined.
"Okay, Locke, remember to cover me." Stanley's hands were shaking, not sure whether it was because of excitement or nervousness.
"I will!" Rock said solemnly. He would definitely provide cover, but the effect could not be guaranteed. The starting position of the attack was more than 500 meters away from the Boer position, and the heavy machine gun could only fire blindly without using tracer bullets.
Anton looked for a long time before he understood what Rock meant by "two o'clock" and "blind spot". Looking at Rock again, Anton was convinced: "Rock, you are amazing. Where did you learn this from?"
study?
Rock really wanted to say it was Iron Blood and Super Big, but he was afraid that Anton would be even more confused.
"This is what the instructor taught me before..." Rock's expression was very matter-of-fact, and he seemed a little surprised at Anton's lack of knowledge.
Anton was so ashamed that he wanted to put his head in his crotch, muttering to himself: "Did the instructor teach you? Why don't I have any impression——"
That's right, you have no impression. When Anton was in the Huayong Battalion, he couldn't understand English at all, so he still doesn't know what the instructor taught him.
There was no time for Anton to reminisce. The major finally had some conscience and agreed to Henry's request. The artillery began to fire.
Even though there were only 20 cannons, the noise they created was enough to scare Rock.
The artillery shells of that time did not have time to use smokeless gunpowder. When they exploded, there was a huge sound, and thick black smoke mixed with orange-red flames, engulfing the Boer coalition's positions. This was actually a good opportunity for infantry and artillery coordination, but it was a pity that the police had not trained with the artillery, and Rock did not understand the level of the British artillery, so he had to give up this opportunity.
When the shelling stopped for a while, Rock began to urge Stanley: "Stanley, come on, come on, stay hidden, don't rush too hard--"
As the cannon fire started, Stanley's eyes began to turn bloodshot. Before Rock could finish his words, Stanley jumped out of the breastwork with his Lee Enfield with a bayonet installed.
"A tentative attack, a tentative attack--" Rock reminded Stanley in a hoarse voice, not knowing whether Stanley understood it or not.
Obviously not. As a policeman, Stanley had never received formal military training. When he encountered the guerrillas a few days ago, due to the efficiency of Anton and Rock, Stanley had no chance to show his ability. The battle was over before he could get into position. This probably gave Stanley the illusion that the Boer coalition was not much stronger than the thieves in Cape Town.
So, although Rock repeatedly emphasized that this was a tentative attack, Stanley did not take it to heart. After jumping out of the breastwork, Stanley began to rush forward, and he did so with his back straight and his head held high.
This made Rock's eyes burst with anger. It didn't matter if Stanley was seeking his own death, he had more than a dozen Chinese policemen under his command. Now that the sheriff was so brave, how could the policemen be left behind? So the policemen were also very fast. A simple tentative attack was turned into a desperate charge by more than a dozen people.
500 meters is neither far nor near. Even if a fully armed soldier is sprinting in a battlefield with complex terrain, it will take at least two minutes. More than two minutes is enough time for the defending Boer coalition to prepare for battle.
The Boer coalition was also very experienced. When Stanley and his men began to charge, they did not open fire. It was not until Stanley and his men reached the foot of the mountain and began to climb up that the Boer coalition's counterattack followed.
Rock was certain that the Boer Coalition was definitely using dum-dum bullets, because at the moment the Boer Coalition's heavy machine guns fired, Stanley's body was almost torn to pieces by the heavy machine guns. It was really the kind of feeling of being shattered and dismembered in an instant.
Three Chinese police officers were also dismembered.
"Two heavy machine guns and a 37mm cannon. Tell Henry to let the artillery kill them." Rock was calm. This is war, and casualties are inevitable.
