Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 536 Chief Civil Secretary
Zhao Lujiao originally thought that he would not survive today.
It was no wonder that he was so unconfident: although the Sixth Division had the exclusive title of "Iron Wall" and the veterans accounted for the majority of the elite. But after all, the full strength was only 15,000 people. After a series of fierce battles, especially after the coordinated attacks by the enemy's navy and land forces in recent days, the losses were huge. Nearly 5,000 people in the division were killed in battle, captured, or collapsed due to dehydration and heatstroke during the rapid march in the summer desert. And the remaining more than 10,000 people, after excluding logistics personnel such as military doctors, craftsmen, baggage, and cooks, the real combat personnel were only more than 9,300 people.
In this era, the loss of nearly one-third of the troops had already pushed the army to the brink of collapse. Fortunately, the Sixth Division was an old unit that Zhao Lujiao had led for many years, and the soldiers knew that if they were separated from the main force in a foreign country, the lucky ones would be captured, and the unlucky ones would lose their way and die of thirst in the desert... Coupled with the unique tenacity of the Chinese, they finally made it to Gaza.
However, according to the principle of dividing into two teams, Team A and Team B, to cover each other's retreat alternately, Luo Xiong, the deputy division commander, had to take half of his men and advance more than 20 miles to Gaza City to set up defensive fortifications in advance. Therefore, Zhao Lujiao had only more than 4,700 soldiers to defend Gaza City, and this remnant army had no cannons at all, and even heavy machine guns, there were not many left.
At this time, Gaza City was not an important military stronghold, but a commodity distribution center. The Port of Neapolis in the suburbs was one of the major ports in the eastern Mediterranean, so the walls here had little to do with being tall and strong. After two or three rounds of bombardment by the Spanish navy and army, the walls on the east and south sides of Gaza City basically no longer existed.
The two Spanish divisions also marched at high intensity for a week. But they traveled by boat most of the time. When the soldiers were injured, they were taken to the medical room on the boat for treatment. The logistics support was even more abundant. Therefore, after arriving at Gaza City, the two Spanish divisions with a full complement of 30,000 people were able to send out more than 26,000 combatants at one time to participate in the siege.
Such a huge gap in personnel, equipment and even status became more obvious after the Spaniards rushed into Gaza City and engaged in fierce street fighting with the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Division: the Spaniards did not care whether there were civilians in the houses. As long as there was a firing point, they would directly call in heavy machine guns and even artillery to attack. While causing huge casualties to civilians in Gaza City, the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Division were also beaten back step by step.
So Zhao Lujiao thought he was going to die in battle here today.
But at this critical moment, more than 3,000 elite Ottoman cavalry suddenly appeared on the ridge of a sand dune east of Gaza City!
When they appeared in the sight of the Spaniards, Fernando, the commander of the 20th Division, who was in command of the battle, quickly made adjustments. However, at this moment, most of the Spanish infantry had already rushed into the city, and what remained outside the city were almost all the 75mm heavy artillery of the two divisions!
Although the soldiers in the artillery regiment were not simply responsible for firing cannons, they also had weapons on them. However, these soldiers were not infantrymen who often charged into battle. Facing the Ottoman cavalry who charged fearlessly with scimitars raised high, they only had time to fire a round of volleys before the enemy rushed in front of them!
The artillery was approached by the cavalry, and the end was miserable. What was worse was that the headquarters of the Spanish 20th Division was not far from the artillery position, and there was no more defense force beside it except for a guard company.
The extremely smooth pursuit that lasted for a week made the Spanish complacent. In addition to the middle and senior officers, a division headquarters also had many institutions such as the division hospital and the baggage brigade, with a total of no less than 600 to 700 people. And with so many people, there was only one guard company to protect them.
Although the guard company also has heavy machine guns, this Ottoman cavalry is not only equipped with scimitars, but everyone also has a six-round pistol.
In short, although the guard company caused heavy casualties to the cavalry, the division headquarters was still in danger of being wiped out by the enemy, so much so that Fernando had to send out signals repeatedly to summon the soldiers who had rushed into the city to come back for help.
In this way, Zhao Lujiao's pressure would naturally be greatly reduced.
The commander who led the Ottoman cavalry in the assault was also a powerful character. After seeing a large number of enemy soldiers pouring out of the city, he led the remaining nearly 2,000 cavalrymen to retreat quickly without even looking at the enemy division headquarters whose outer defense line had been basically breached and was within reach.
As the saying goes, the first effort will weaken the second and then exhaust the third. After being tossed around by the Ottoman cavalry, it would take the Spaniards more time to reorganize the offensive. So Zhao Lujiao's detachment was finally able to retreat smoothly after it got dark.
"Maldita Sea! If it weren't for these pagan cavalry, I could have completely annihilated this Chinese army today."
Coutinho, who was standing on the bridge of the Casti and witnessed the entire day's battle, kept cursing, but the naval detachment commander Alfonso next to him could clearly feel that the division commander was not particularly angry at the moment. On the contrary, he seemed to be vaguely happy?
This doubt was not long resolved, because Coutinho had already called over an army staff officer: draft a document immediately and report today's battle situation to Sir Maurice in Alexandria. He also informed Sir Maurice that the remnants of the Chinese army were about to be defeated, and our 19th and 20th divisions would break away from the navy's escort and go deep inland to pursue them.
At the same time, the Ottoman cavalry participated in today's battle, which shows that the Ottomans still have considerable strength in Gaza and Jerusalem. To ensure safety, I ask Mr. Maurice to transfer the 11th and 12th divisions that have been fully prepared to form the Coutinho Group with the 19th and 20th divisions. The four divisions will march towards Jerusalem together!
After listening to Coutinho's narration quietly and watching the army staff turn and leave, Alfonso spoke up: "Are you really going to go deep inland? You know, as long as you are more than ten kilometers away from the coastline, the navy will not be able to help you at all."
"Haha, how can I not help? Sir, our army's heavy artillery was severely damaged this time. We need your fleet to continuously transport the follow-up weapons and even food to us."
"That's no problem, but what if Mr. Morris disagrees with your plan?"
"Hmm..." Coutinho looked up at the night sky, which was gradually getting darker and stars were beginning to appear one by one. He took a deep breath and said, "It is now August 5th. The communication ship will set off tonight and will arrive in Alexandria at the earliest in the afternoon of the 6th. When Mr. Maurice saw this letter, it was actually August 7th. By then, I had already penetrated at least 40 kilometers inland, and Jerusalem was already within reach..."
"You!" Alfonso only called out softly, and said nothing more. Jerusalem, for any devout Christian, if there is a chance to recover the holy city, who would not try his best?
"I understand, Rear Admiral. I wish you good luck. Please rest assured that even if Mr. Morris does not support your plan, at least I will provide you with logistical support. Well, how about the navy sending some sailors ashore to guard Gaza City, and all future logistical supplies will enter Gaza through the Port of Neapolis?"
"Haha! Thank you for your support! Your Excellency, the recovery of the Holy City will not be without your contribution."
…
Just when Coutinho and Alfonso made up their minds to "go it alone" even without the support of their superiors, more than 20 miles northeast of Gaza City, Luo Xiong, after crying for a while while hugging Zhao Lujiao, was accompanying his commander to meet a great figure in the historical plane.
Richelieu, then the chief civil secretary of the Ottoman Grand Vizier Ibrahim.
"My two friends, I am very sorry. In order to lure the invaders into the siege of Jerusalem, we watched you being chased by the enemy for nearly a week without offering a helping hand. I made this cruel decision, and I am willing to bear all your anger."
As a man who understood human nature, Richelieu strongly advocated the setting up of a siege net around Jerusalem when the Ottomans deployed their troops: he knew those Spanish fanatics too well, and they had not been able to reach them before. This time, they were so close to Jerusalem that it was impossible for them to resist the temptation to recover the holy city.
In his opinion, due to the disparity in national strength, the Ottoman Empire would have a hard time in the early stages of this war, especially losing a lot of land. Although these lost lands must be abandoned from a strategic point of view, Ibrahim is just a powerful minister. If he gave up so much land and still passively suffered a beating, what about the public opinion in the Ottoman Empire?
Therefore, it is necessary to win a big victory in the early stage as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the war is delayed, Yiprahin's position will be unstable.
The siege of Jerusalem was the basis of this great victory.
However, the encirclement was launched, but something went wrong during the execution: Duke Albrecht, who was almost persuaded by the Venetians, was captured by the Ottoman army. The newly appointed Maurice was still familiar with the situation and had no plans to take military risks for the time being.
This was too dangerous: the war had lasted for more than five months since March this year, and the Ottomans had lost a lot of land. Even the outskirts of Constantinople were bombarded all day long. If there was no big victory, Ibrahim might be overthrown by the nobles below.
But how to get the enemy into this encirclement? Just when Richelieu was at a loss, the Spanish discovered the material transfer base of the Sixth Division of the Ming Dynasty in the Sinai Peninsula. Then...
The Ottomans had an Arab division near Jerusalem, so they were very familiar with the situation here. They knew very early that the Ming Sixth Division was being hunted by two Spanish divisions. However, Richelieu firmly controlled the division commanders who were ready to send troops to help, and hardened his heart to only listen to the battle reports brought by his own scouts every day, and refused to send reinforcements.
However, on August 5, he had to send reinforcements: if he didn't, the Chinese would collapse. If the Chinese were annihilated, he and Ibrahim would have a hard time explaining to the Chinese emperor.
Of course, there were some things to consider when sending out reinforcements: not too few, or they would be useless; not too many, or they would scare the enemy away. So, after much deliberation, he sent out more than 3,000 pure Sipahi elite cavalry, and equipped each of them with a six-round pistol.
The Ottoman Sipasis of this era were indeed on the decline as a class. But the elite among them were still quite capable. Therefore, they found the perfect time to insert themselves and completed the task without suffering too much loss.
After listening to Richelieu's straightforward explanation, Zhao Lujiao and Luo Xiong were very angry: If you had sent troops one day earlier, how many fewer people would have died? But deep down, they also knew that Richelieu's treatment was the best choice from a strategic point of view.
"Division Commander." After dealing with a few polite words and returning to the Sixth Division's own camp, Luo Xiong said to Zhao Lujiao: "Barbarians are barbarians after all. They only care about interests and have no feelings. I think we should follow the emperor's order and withdraw! It's not worth fighting for such people."
