Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 731 The Key is to Mobilize the Enemy
Cromwell had been entangled with Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others in South America for many years. And Raimondo had experienced the great victory of the Indian Campaign and the victory and then defeat of the Indochina Campaign. In short, these two current supreme commanders of the Spanish American military forces were actually very familiar with the Ming Army.
Therefore, when the Ming-Indian coalition arrived at the battlefield that night, they did not even bother to find out the terrain and directly launched a night battle. Although it was beyond the two's expectations, they were not particularly panicked in the face of such a battle situation.
Just twenty minutes after the Ming-Indian coalition's artillery began its bombardment, the Spanish artillery launched a counterattack .
Whether it is the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, the Indians, or the Spaniards, they all like 75mm guns: on the land battlefield, unless the enemy has built a fixed fortress with reinforced concrete in advance, the 75 gun can solve the general field fortifications. The key is that this gun is light. The gun body and the gun carriage together weigh only about one ton. With two rubber tires, it can be quickly transferred. The weight of the shells varies depending on the warheads installed, but the heaviest is only six or seven kilograms - a wheelbarrow can hold a basic number of shells. In short, when the artillery level of both sides is not bad, whether the artillery position can be transferred quickly or not is the key to how long the artillery can survive.
In the artillery battle that night, after just over two hours of fighting, both sides suffered heavy losses in their 105mm guns, especially the 150mm heavy guns, due to the inconvenience of transfer. Only a large number of 75mm gun companies survived.
However, although the artillery battle was fought back and forth, the artillery of both sides fired at each other for five or six hours. When the Ming army launched an infantry charge, the Spanish soldiers on the front line felt the pressure.
The barrage of bullets advanced slowly, and the coordination of infantry and artillery was the racial talent of the Han soldiers. As the Indian soldiers who were taught by the Ming generals, they also did a good job in this regard. In addition, with the telephone technology now available, as the Ming Indian soldiers advanced, the telephone lines also extended. With the direct contact between the front-line commander and the artillery chief, the Ming infantry and artillery coordinated tactics were more perfect.
At the same time, according to the organization of the Ming Dynasty's field divisions, mortars were equipped to the platoon level. If they really encountered a machine gun firing point that could not be avoided, the Jaguar would just go up and take a few bites.
Therefore, with the assistance of artillery, the Ming army's attack was generally very smooth. The infantry charge started at 4 a.m. on the 22nd. By 7 a.m., when the morning light gradually brightened, the Ming army's vanguard had penetrated about 3 kilometers into the Spanish defense line.
Of course, as an old rival of the Ming Army, a general like Raimondo would not be so foolish as to only set up one line of defense when building a defense line. In fact, when the Ming Army stayed in Quito to relieve altitude sickness, Raimondo built three lines of defense in the area of Mount Sibat, and each line of defense was a complex defense system consisting of permanent turrets, solid machine gun points, and trenches.
But even with such a defensive system, although the enemy bombarded it for six hours, the enemy's infantry only charged for three hours and advanced three kilometers, almost breaking through the first line of defense. The combat effectiveness and fighting will they showed still Raimondo and Cromwell a little surprised.
"Hey, it's too noisy over there, speak louder!"
"Reinforcements have been sent out. You must hold out until they arrive!"
"Hey, hey, what? You're Indians, and you've breached this battery? Damn it!"
About fifteen kilometers behind Spain's first line of defense, in the headquarters of the Spanish American Legion, the telephone kept ringing. The staff officers in charge of various tasks were either shouting orders to the subordinate troops, or trying their best to encourage their comrades who were surrounded by the enemy, or making various records with pencils. The discarded papers, various combat maps, and cigarette butts of various lengths were thrown everywhere... Surrounded by smoke and dim lights, the entire headquarters was noisy and busy, but overall it still showed a unique order in the busyness.
Next to the noisy command hall, the commander's office separated by double-glazed windows is quite quiet, as if it is a completely different world from the hall outside.
"Report, Your Excellencies, in accordance with your instructions, the Operations Department of the General Staff has compiled various battle reports as of 6:30 this morning."
"Read it."
"Yes, as of now, 40% of the 30,000 troops of the 11th Division (Casti Division) and the 12th Division (mainly local whites, mixed-race people, and black slaves) deployed on the first line of defense have lost contact. Among the remaining 60% of the troops that can still be contacted, the number of casualties they reported has exceeded 5,000.
Before this battle, our army concentrated all eight artillery regiments of eight divisions of the first Sibat Corps (the main corps consisting of eight divisions blocking the main road) on the front line. After six hours of artillery battles with the rebels, according to the losses reported by each artillery regiment, we have lost more than 80% of the 150 guns, more than 70% of the 105 guns, and 30% of the 75 guns. Now, the rebels' artillery fire has extended to our second line of defense. Our artillery is desperately firing blindly at the rebels who rushed into our first line of defense, hoping to block the enemy's subsequent offensive forces. "
"If we calculate it this way," Cromwell did a quick calculation in his mind, "the casualties on the front line have exceeded 10,000?"
"More than 10,000 for sure. The 40% of the troops that lost contact certainly weren't all killed. But after being cut off and surrounded by the enemy, they either died in battle or surrendered. This can basically be considered a permanent loss." After fiercely extinguishing the cigarette butt in his hand, Raimondo stood up, exhaled all the smoke from his mouth, and then walked to the troop deployment diagram: "Sir, what I mean is to move all three divisions on the second line forward and fight repeatedly with the rebels on the first front!"
"Hiss~ Raimondo, aren't you being too radical? Although we suffered heavy losses tonight, I believe the enemy's losses will be even greater. At this time, shouldn't we give up the first line of defense and let the enemy continue to bleed heavily on the second line of defense?"
"There are two reasons why we can't do this. First, the rebels are advancing , which is completely beyond our expectations. If we don't hold them off at this time, then the front-line infantry will be able to withdraw quickly, but what about our artillery? If we lose all the artillery of the First Corps on the first night, there will be no need to fight the rest of the battle.
Secondly, according to the intelligence from our spies lurking in the rebels, the Chinese were so eager to send away a large amount of gold and silver before the war that the Indian soldiers in the other army actually had doubts in their hearts. In this case, if the other side only attacked overnight and took down a line of defense, then, under the stimulation of this partial victory, the doubts of these soldiers would be reduced or dispelled, and the efforts of our spies some time ago would be in vain. On the contrary, if we defend the first line of defense tonight, no matter how much we pay, it will eventually make the enemy think: "We have sacrificed so much, but still gained nothing. What are these Chinese thinking?" Once the Indian soldiers have such an idea, the balance of victory will quickly tilt towards us. After all, unlike the troops in our hands, which are mostly made up of native Europeans, the Indians are the main force of the rebels on the opposite side. "
"...Your opinion is very correct, but I still have a doubt. If you do this, the first line of defense may be able to be held, but our second line of defense will be empty."
"It doesn't matter. We can ask the Second Corps (the five divisions guarding the northern gap) to transfer two divisions here."
"With this withdrawal, the Second Corps' strength will be..."
"Yes, but it doesn't matter, sir." Looking at Cromwell, who had been in America for many years and had become bloated and fat under his chin due to his life as a 'local tyrant', Laimondo patiently explained: "The rebels' artillery fire is very fierce tonight. According to the reports from the front line, I am sure that the other side has concentrated at least ten artillery regiments tonight. In addition, the enemy commander will start a night battle as soon as he arrives at the front line and builds trenches... In short, based on various intelligence, I can infer that the rebels have at least ten divisions in front of my First Corps. If you calculate it this way, the number of the enemy's troops that can take the gap will not exceed three at most. I will leave three divisions there, which is enough."
"...Okay, I'll follow your advice."
And on the other side.
"Reporting to the corps commander, as of 7 o'clock this morning, our army's casualties have exceeded 6,000, and the wounded are over 10,000."
"Thank you for your hard work, brothers. Have our wounded been properly taken care of?"
"All have been evacuated, and the field hospital is currently in good order overall."
"That's fine. How long will it take to take down the opponent's first line of defense?"
"The enemy's first line of defense has been penetrated and divided by our army. Although there are still many small-scale enemy troops fighting, they are all fighting on their own and will not pose a big threat to us. If we have another two hours..."
"Report~! Commander, the Western bandits have drawn fresh troops from the rear to launch a counterattack against our army!"
"Ah?" Li Zicheng, who hadn't slept all day and whose eyes were red, was stunned for a moment after hearing the news, and then quickly turned to ecstasy. He slapped his thigh fiercely: "Great! Telephone team, notify the troops currently fighting on the front line, let them resist step by step and gradually retreat. Hehe, at least the first item of the commander's combat request today, I, Li, have done it for him!"
