Chapter 349 Attacking Hoi An City
The 24-pound cannon on the bow of the "Explorer" roared, and the heavy shells rushed out of the gun barrel with a muzzle velocity of 450 meters per second, smashing a large hole in a gray masonry building on the shore that hung the flag of the King of South Vietnam. . This was certainly not a random shooting by the ship's artillery. In fact, Qian Tiandun had already identified this target when he came for reconnaissance last time - the Navy Yamen on the dock outside Hoi An City.
It is said to be a "yamen", but it is actually a place where sailors go ashore to rest and officers drink tea and chat. Of course, from a military perspective, it also plays the role of a command organization - and this is the main reason why it was first targeted by the Haihan warship and demolished by artillery fire.
I have to say that the demolition efficiency of artillery fire was very high. By the third shot, the shells penetrated the wall and hit a load-bearing beam in the house. Then half of the building collapsed immediately. When the smoke and dust dissipated, then There were no human beings in the area. It was estimated that everyone who was not buried in the house had fled into Hoi An City. Although there was only one ship, the Discovery, firing its cannons at the attack, the defenders of Hoi An obviously had no intention of standing up and serving as cannon fodder. They did not organize an organized defense force on the dock, and did not give the Hoi An militia any hope. The login is causing trouble.
"Heitu Port Special Forces, prepare to land!" Qian Tiandun saw the mess on the dock, shook his head slightly, and gave the order to his team. The Black Earth Port Special Operations Company will serve as the vanguard, establishing a position on the riverside pier and covering the subsequent landing of troops and supplies.
Compared with the harsh natural environment during the previous landing operation near Zhengjiang, the difficulty index of landing at Hoi An Port was surprisingly low. Hoi An has been the most prosperous seaport in South Vietnam in recent decades. There are neat piers and trestles on the banks of the inland rivers, making it very convenient for attacking fleets to dock and land. There is no need to build facilities such as pontoons during the process. The materials can be hoisted directly from the ship to the river bank, which greatly saves labor and time. The only thing that makes the military feel a little regretful is that the artillery fire and demolition just now scared away all the people near the dock, so that now there is no way to temporarily recruit some civilians.
Of course, not everyone has fled back to Hoi An City. In fact, the local Portuguese Chamber of Commerce is located outside Hoi An City. Eduardo de Oliveira is the president of the local Portuguese Chamber of Commerce. When the first cannon shot was heard from the Thu Bon River, Eduardo, who was dining, thought it was some kind of illusion: "Bento, go out and take a look. Is it going to rain?”
The servant Bento walked to the door and looked at the sky, then turned back and reported: "Sir, the weather is very good and it doesn't look like it's going to rain."
At this moment, a second cannon shot came. Eduardo threw down the mutton chops in his hand angrily, wiped his mouth with a napkin and said: "You idiot, didn't you hear the thunder in the sky? What on earth are you?" Blind or deaf? ”
Bento turned his head and looked outside the house again, then turned back with a horrified look on his face and said: "Master, it's not thunder, it's cannon fire!"
"Artillery? Where did the artillery come from? Our two armed merchant ships just set off from Hoi An to Malacca two days ago. Does anyone else have artillery in this place?" Eduardo threw down his napkin and stood up: "You What the hell is this damn idiot talking about!”
Eduardo walked to the balcony and looked at the river, and he happened to see the third shell of the "Adventure" destroying the naval office on the shore from a distance of fifty meters.
"My God! It's the enemy! There are enemies attacking Hoi An!" Eduardo turned around and rushed into the room with a flexible movement that was completely incompatible with his fat body: "Damn Bento, go and gather people! Call everyone Get your guns ready!”
While the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce was in a state of turmoil, the Haihan militia was calmly carrying out the landing step by step. As a compulsory course for the militia, amphibious landing is almost the specialty of the Haihan militia. What's more, there are no opponents on the battlefield in front of them, making it a barrier-free landing for the soldiers.
"Are we playing too easy now?" Qian Tiandun asked with some confusion as he looked at the troops marching to the shore in an orderly manner.
"It seems... South Vietnam has no reaction at all! Are they just huddled in the city waiting for us to fight?" Wang Tom was also participating in this kind of siege for the first time, and he had no corresponding experience to refer to.
When the officers formulated the battle plan in advance, they had already fully considered the difficulties that may arise in various aspects, such as blocked landings, stubborn enemy resistance, etc., but they failed to consider that there was no resistance at all during the landing process. This situation. As for the defenders retreating into the city for defense, the officers were not worried at all - for the attackers who had the advantage, motionless targets were easier to deal with.
"Then should we clear out the targets outside the city one by one first?" Qian Tiandun continued to ask.
In the original plan, the militia's primary target after landing was the enemy. However, it now seemed unlikely that the enemy would show up on their own initiative. Qian Tiandun considered whether to clear some targets outside the city first. Various chambers of commerce, firms, and warehouses lined the miles-long riverside docks, many of which were included in this looting list.
"There's no rush, let's attack the main city first!" Wang Tom thought for a while, shook his head and said: "If we go to clean up a place like this outside the city now, we will definitely encounter some resistance. It's better to take down the main city first and turn back. Cleaning up the outside of the city may have a better deterrent effect and encounter less resistance.”
"It sounds very reasonable." Qian Tiandun did not insist on his opinion. He nodded and went ashore to command the troops to assemble.
Hoi An City is located on the north bank of the Thu Bon River. The southern city wall is only about a mile away from the river bank. At this distance, even the naval gun on the "Explorer" can hit the city wall by adjusting the angle. However, Wang Tom did not intend to let naval guns take on the task of siege. On this expedition, they brought a special siege weapon developed by the military industry department-mortar cannon.
Large-caliber mortars were not uncommon in combat in this era. In fact, mortars that fired stone bullets had appeared on the battlefield as early as the 13th century. There were many general cannons used by the army in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. They all belong to the category of mortars. Compared with long-barreled artillery, short-barreled mortars are much less difficult to cast, and the barrel is much lighter than traditional artillery of the same caliber. Of course, due to its cannon body, its accuracy and range cannot be compared with traditional artillery, but to deal with a target as large as a city wall, a mortar cannon is enough.
This time the Haihan militia brought ten 48-pound mortars. Each gun weighed just over 700 kilograms, and its range could reach more than 1,000 meters. This was enough for the South Vietnamese defending the city to appreciate the power of heavy artillery to attack the city. .
Of course, in order to achieve better shooting effects, the shorter the distance, the better. At this time, ordinary army artillery must assume the role of fire cover. In addition, this time Tom Wang also brought ten imitation Whitworth rifles - although they have not yet been finalized, the military industry department has decided to call them "Type 28 sniper rifles." However, due to the limited number of trial items, ordinary militiamen will definitely not be able to take a turn this time. Only a few time-traveling officers can try out this powerful old-fashioned rifle. If any unlucky guy pokes his head out on the city wall later, that head is likely to face the concentrated fire of several sniper rifles.
The siege troops spent nearly two hours unloading personnel and supplies, establishing defensive positions on the river bank, and setting up warnings on the river. Then they calmly marched outside Hoi An City. Although the officers had no intention of rushing for success, they did not intend to waste time on trying to persuade them to surrender - if the South Vietnamese officials guarding the city really surrendered directly, it would not be fun. The infantry began to dig holes and set up gun emplacements about 300 meters away from the city wall. At this time, the defenders in the city still seemed to have no intention of opening the door and leaving the city to fight. By the time the artillery positions were set up and the artillery began to move in, it was already noon. However, the artillerymen had lunch in advance before that, and it was a good time to stretch their bodies.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, under the order of Wang Tom, more than 20 large and small artillery pieces on the position began to attack Hoi An City. In an instant, smoke and dust were everywhere on the top of the city. It was not difficult for the South Vietnamese soldiers hiding behind the wall to feel the impact of the huge mortar shells hitting the city wall. Although the officers tried to drive the soldiers to defend the city, when several unlucky ones were torn into pieces by the cannonballs flying in the air, those with the strongest desire to fight silently shut their mouths.
Although there is a thousand-man army stationed in Hoi An City, its strength is not consistent with the status of this seaport city. Not to mention artillery, this army does not even have arquebuses. Due to limited financial resources, the number of troops in South Vietnam that could be armed according to Portuguese standards was only one or two thousand, and these new troops were deployed near the Zhengjiang Hengshan defense line in the north to guard against possible attacks by the North Vietnamese army at any time. The long-range weapons in the hands of the Hoi An defenders are only dozens of bows, but with the level of fire suppression they are currently experiencing, they have no power to resist.
"Oh God..." Eduardo, who was watching the battle at the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce two miles away, muttered to himself. The hand holding the matchlock couldn't help but tremble slightly. Although the people from the Chamber of Commerce quickly gathered and formed an armed defense force of 130 people, it was obviously a daydream to rely on these people to defeat the terrifying army outside Hoi An.
The Portuguese Chamber of Commerce is a two-story masonry building with a zigzag structure. The function of a fortress was added at the beginning of the design. If necessary, as long as the door is sealed, the entire chamber of commerce can be transformed into a fortress immediately, and the musketeers can Shooting from a high position through various windows on the second floor is enough to defeat the attack of thousands of cold weapon troops.
But no matter how solid the house is, it cannot compare with the city wall of Hoi An. Seeing the city wall of Hoi An crumbling under the bombardment of artillery, Eduardo is keenly aware that if the other party wants to attack the Chamber of Commerce, then it is estimated that one round of attacks will The house could be demolished into rubble, which made the courage he finally summoned to resist dissipate almost instantly.
Eduardo slowly put down the matchlock gun in his hand and called the servant Bento to his side with a hidden movement: "Listen Bento, I want you to prepare the horses and put away the box containing the silver coins in my room. , we have to get out of here!”
Bento bowed and asked: "Master, how many horses do you need to prepare?"
"If you can keep up with the running speed of a horse with a silver box, then you only need one! You idiot!" Eduardo was angry and anxious, but he did not dare to yell loudly for fear of being heard by others.
Although the battlefield in Hoi An City is fiercely fought, there have been no major casualties so far. The garrison officers in the city were secretly glad that they did not lead their troops to attack impulsively, otherwise they would have been turned into dregs under the intensive artillery bombardment. Only a handful of unlucky ones fell victim to this seemingly endless bombardment.
Another thing that makes the defenders feel fortunate is that the attacking party does not seem to have arranged for spies to cause trouble in the city in advance. So far, the order in the city has not been disrupted. Except for military personnel, most people returned to their homes and closed their doors, secretly praying that this disaster would pass quickly.
Although at the beginning of the enemy's landing, the defenders in the city had sent messengers asking for reinforcements, but in fact they did not put much hope in reinforcements. The nearest large garrison to Hoi An is in Hue, 200 miles away, and half of the journey is rugged mountainous terrain. Even if the envoys and reinforcements have Scuds, it will take at least four days to get there. Five days. And if the opponent continues to bombard Hoi An City for several days, I am afraid that the entire city will be bombarded to rubble.
What's more terrible is that although the defenders sent people to ask for help, they didn't know the origin, purpose, or strength of the opponent. If they went out to ask for reinforcements, the envoy would be more likely to be beheaded as a liar than if they invited reinforcements. is more likely. Some active people in the city's garrison began to wonder whether they should try to go to the other side of Hoi An City, because the opponent did not surround the city, and when the city was broken, they would at least have a chance to escape from the other direction.
The defenders with various thoughts did not worry about this for too long. After an hour and a half of intermittent bombardment, the south gate of Hoi An City collapsed together with the city gate tower, forming a 20-meter-wide tunnel in the south of the city. There were large gaps in the city wall, and other parts of the southern city wall also collapsed and cracked. The defenders could not even climb the city wall for defense. At this point, for the militia, the defense in the south of the city has basically been broken.
In fact, if they want to break through the city wall of Hoi An, the Military Commission can come up with at least five or six more time-saving and labor-saving methods - such as planting explosives at night to blow up the city wall directly. But after weighing the situation, we finally chose the solution of winning by brute force. This was done to test the effectiveness of the mortar, a powerful siege weapon, in actual combat, and to summarize a set of combat plans for the mortar to siege the city. Secondly, it is also an additional live-fire training for the artillery. After all, this arm consumes too much, and it is impossible to use live ammunition all the time in daily training. The battlefield is a rare opportunity for practice. Of course, the most important thing is that the opponent in South Vietnam is too weak to cause trouble to the militia, and all arms can safely conduct training on the battlefield in South Vietnam.
"Infantry, come on!" Seeing that the city wall of Hoi An finally collapsed as expected, Wang Tom gave the order calmly: "After taking control of the city defense, do not kill casually, and allow the acceptance of surrendered prisoners."
Leading the charge at the front is still the attacking Minami Takahashi. To some extent, he has even become the image spokesperson of the vigilante charge. And Gao Qiaonan's own legendary experience has also given him a group of imitators and followers within the militia - especially those young people from Annan who joined the army in order to obtain naturalized citizenship, all regarded Gao Qiaonan as A template for success. After all, not everyone can achieve this kind of counterattack from a prisoner to become an officer. Coupled with the bravery and courage shown by Takahashi Minami on the battlefield, it makes the young people of the militia full of enthusiasm and strive for success. Follow suit.
After the city wall was blown down, the defenders in the city finally organized a wave of resistance in the face of the incoming enemies. Unfortunately, after being swept away by the bullets of short-barreled flintlock rifles, the South Vietnamese soldiers quickly lost the courage to resist. , began to run away to various parts of the city.
Gao Qiaonan had received Qian Tiandun's advice in advance, but he was not in a hurry to pursue the defeated army. Instead, he led his troops to control the gap in the city wall and waited for the arrival of follow-up troops. After fighting many battles, Takahashi Minami also began to gradually understand the combat philosophy of his superiors - the Haihan people did not aim at killing in battle, but strived to achieve tactical goals with minimal losses and maximum efficiency. For example, the plan to attack Hoi An City did not make clear requirements for killing the enemy. Instead, it made quite detailed arrangements on how to control the situation after attacking Hoi An City.
The execution of this combat plan requires the division of labor and cooperation of each company. It may be a little complicated, but it is actually very simple to say - the people in the city can be allowed to escape, but the materials in the city cannot be easily let go.
After the Haihan militia entered the city, the strategic targets they wanted to control were the city's government agencies, granaries, the locations of various chambers of commerce and large trading houses, and finally the entire city was cleared of remaining South Vietnamese military personnel.
What is more sensitive in this process is the handling of Chinese businessmen. Most of these Chinese businessmen who have taken root in Hoi An have inextricable ties with the local area. A considerable number of them even support the existence of the South Vietnamese regime and are related to the Cross-Travel Group. There is a conflict of fundamental interests. However, their Chinese identity makes the vigilante groups have to be wary in their actions. After all, the crossing group is still under the banner of being of Han descent. If these people are dealt with too harshly, it is difficult to guarantee that they will not be labeled as "murdering compatriots" after word spreads. A scapegoat of sorts.
(End of chapter)