Chapter 379 Between Attack and Defense
When Liu Xiang saw the fireworks warning being emitted from the ship that turned around and fled, he knew that his intentions had been exposed in advance. However, what worries him is not that the Haihan people will send ships to attack after receiving the news, but that the other party is huddled on the island and adopts a passive defense strategy to deal with his own offensive.
Liu Xiang had been to Dawanshan Island a few years ago. The island is small and has steep shores. There is only a small bay in the southwest around the entire island that can dock ships, and that place is said to have been destroyed by the sea. The Han people built docks and built various shore defenses like iron barrels. It would be troublesome to launch an attack from the sea. If the Haihan people huddled on the island and used muskets and artillery for defense, they would definitely not be able to attack the island without paying some price. Although Liu Xiang's pirates were many desperadoes, they were still a group of rabble after all. He was also a little worried about relying on his hands. Let’s see if these people can crack the hard nut of Wanshan Port.
And this worry seems to be turning into reality little by little. The traces of Dawanshan Island can be seen on the sea level ahead, but no Haihan warships are seen coming out to intercept them. If the Haihan people really have warships stationed in Wanshan Port, then the commander should not be stupid enough to let the warships squat at the port.
"Haihan people really have warships in Wanshan Port?" Liu Xiang turned his head and asked Liu Xin in confusion.
Liu Xin responded quickly: "When I was in Guangzhou, I inquired about information from various sources and confirmed that there are at least two Haihan warships stationed in Wanshan Port. However, the Haihan people still have a stronghold in Panyu County. Maybe the warships are not in the port at this time. .”
"The Haihan people are working with me, so they will leave a place like Wanshan Port undefended?" Liu Xiang was able to get through today's situation, and he was not stupid at all. He immediately expressed doubts about Liu Xin's statement.
"As far as I know, the Haihan people attach great importance to guiding immigrants from Guangzhou to Victory Port, and often send warships to escort them. Perhaps the warships in Wanshan Port are leaving the harbor to escort civilian ships." Liu Xin quickly elaborated on his statement. Replenish.
"Well... if that's the case, then we've picked a good opportunity!" Although Liu Xiang is still a little doubtful, it is obvious that the credibility of this statement is much higher than before, and it sounds reasonable. If Wanshan Port is not protected by maritime armed forces, the pressure to attack the port later can be reduced at least by half.
However, Liu Xiang did not order a rash advance. He still maintained the current formation of the fleet step by step and detoured from the southern end of Wanshan Island in a leisurely manner. After it was confirmed that there was no trace of other ships on the sea within visual range. , then they collectively turned to the north and blocked the exit of Wanshan Harbor.
At this time, he could clearly see more than a dozen ships of various sizes docked at the pier in the harbor. Liu Xin sneered and said: "The warning from the Haihan people seems to be of no use. It has been such a long time. I don't know." Escape by boat!”
Liu Xiang was not as optimistic as he was. He shook his head and said: "It's not that simple. Look, you can't even see a single person on the pier. These people have already hidden! There are also those arc-shaped buildings on the north and south shores of the port. It looks like a fort!”
"Fort!" Liu Xin was also surprised. Although among the news he inquired about, there were also rumors that the Haihan people were building a fort in Wanshan Port, but no one could confirm it, so he had always treated this kind of statement as false news.
But in fact, in order to avoid suspicion during the construction of the port's coastal defenses, various means were used to cover and camouflage them from the beginning. Moreover, there are strictly designated military areas on the island, so non-island personnel cannot approach the shore defenses at all. The area where the fortifications are located, so the rumors about the forts have never been very definite. It was not until the war preparations were entered a few days ago that Chen Yixin asked the soldiers to remove some of the camouflage outside the fortifications that blocked the shooting and sighting angles, revealing part of their true bodies.
The fort here has five coastal defense guns in the north and south of the port. This time Wang Tom led the troops and brought a lot of artillery. Three more army guns were added at the north and south ends. The remaining artillery was Arranged on the front of the pier, there were a total of more than twenty cannons, large and small, forming crossfire from three directions, north and southeast, which could completely cover this small harbor. It's okay if the enemy doesn't come in, but if you want to exit unscathed after entering, it's probably almost impossible.
Liu Xiang did not rush to order a rush to the port, but asked the fleet to park outside the harbor and carefully observed the situation in the harbor. The ships docked at the pier were all ordinary civilian ships and merchant ships. There was no legendary Haihan warship with strange masts and sails and gun windows on the side. There was also silence on the shore, and not a single living person could be seen. This strange situation made Liu Xiang feel that something was not right.
"This guy has been waiting outside for so long. Has he seen through our methods?" Li Dou held a telescope in his hand and looked at the pirate fleet outside the harbor from the second floor of the headquarters. While looking at it, he asked Chen Yixin next to him. road.
Chen Yixin responded: "Even if they could see through it, it's unlikely they would just turn around and leave. It took them three days to get here with so many people and boats, and they turned around and left without even letting go. I think Liu Xiang should I can’t afford this shame.”
When he first received the news of the pirate attack, Li Dou was inevitably a little panicked. The most intense armed conflict he had ever experienced in his life before that was just to arrest some nail households in Sanya who were unwilling to move. With this A life-and-death battle with real swords and guns is completely different. He also secretly asked Chen Yixin if he was really sure of the outcome of this battle. But when these pirate ships actually arrived at Wanshan Port, Li Dou calmed down, because Chen Yixin told him calmly that if even a group of 17th-century pirates couldn't be defeated under the current conditions, then everyone might as well just jump in The sea is great.
Wang Tom set up a very simple trap for this battle, just waiting for Liu Xiang to step in. Ten warships had left the port more than two hours ago, but they were not going to challenge Liu Xiang's pirate fleet. Instead, they quietly slipped behind the adjacent Xiaowanshan Island to the west and hid.
Wang Tom's purpose of making this arrangement is very clear, which is to rely on the shore defenses of the port to hold back the enemy when Liu Xiang's fleet attacks the port, and then lead the fleet to come out from behind and attack the enemy from the front and rear.
If the timing of this tactic is grasped, coupled with proper operation and tacit cooperation, it will undoubtedly be able to block Liu Xiang's fleet in the port and beat it up, and it is not impossible to severely damage it. Even if you are unlucky, you won't be besieged due to the difference in the number of ships on both sides. You can launch a wave of artillery attacks before the opponent turns around, and then safely evacuate the battlefield.
If Liu Xiang chooses to continue attacking Wanshan Port, he will have to endure the dilemma of being attacked from both front and back and the terrible casualties it will bring. If Liu Xiang's fleet wants to pursue them, they will have no choice but to give up and continue attacking Wanshan Port. However, the speed and flexibility of the pirate fleet are completely incomparable with the warships of the militia. They will only be defeated by the Haihan warships. Take a kite flying on the sea. Liu Xiang's fleet came all the way to fight in an away game, and its endurance at sea is naturally not as good as that of its master. When the time comes, whether it is fighting or retreating, it will inevitably be bitten by the Haihan warship.
Of course, this tactic is simple to say, but there are still quite a lot of details that need to be considered one by one when it is actually implemented, especially the control of fighter aircraft, which is a key link in the entire plan. The warships appeared early, and Liu Xiang's fleet had enough time to react and could turn around and withdraw from the port to fight. In this way, Haihan's fleet, which was seriously disadvantaged in terms of the number of ships, would not dare to rush close to fight the enemy ships, so as to avoid besieged by it. If it appears too late, Liu Xiang's fleet might have used its superior strength to force a landing. Although there is no need to worry that Liu Xiang can really capture Wanshan Island, if the pirates destroy the cargo of merchant ships in the dock, or kill some people on the island, People, it will also have a great negative impact on Haihan's reputation. This kind of result is definitely something the executive committee does not want to see.
In wars of this era, even if the combat environment is on land, it is a problem that troubles commanders if they want two forces that are too far apart to cooperate. If the combat environment is changed to the sea, it is basically impossible to do so from a technical level. To solve this problem, whether it is releasing smoke or using other sound and light means as a predetermined signal, the Haihan warship hiding behind Xiaowanshan Island, which is four kilometers away from Wanshan Port, will have difficulty receiving the signal in a timely and accurate manner. , so it is very likely that the judgment of the fighter aircraft will be biased. However, the shortcomings of the contemporary army were exactly the strengths of the Haihan Militia. Relying on black technology that spans the ages, the combat troops of the Haihan Militia can realize regional coordinated operations through real-time information exchange, which greatly improves the combat effectiveness of the troops and their ability to grasp fleeting fighter opportunities. This kind of ability is something that peers in this era cannot imagine or even expect.
Liu Xiang observed outside the port for a full stick of incense and determined that there were no other threats in the nearby waters, and then issued the order to attack Wanshan Port. In fact, Liu Xiang herself was still a little uneasy about this decision, always feeling that something was not quite right. But think about it, even if Wanshan Port is a trap, it is impossible to just stare at it for a while and then turn around and leave. Liu Xiang, who has been in the South China Sea for many years, can't do such a cowardly thing without wiping his face.
Just in case, Liu Xiang ordered a dozen smaller ships to be left on guard in the waters outside the port, while he himself commanded the main fleet to enter the harbor.
The harbor of Wanshan Port is only a few miles deep. Liu Xiang commanded the fleet to rush directly to the port pier. His operational purpose was very clear, which was to complete the landing operation before the forts on the shore caused serious damage to his own fleet. . As long as we can occupy the port area and capture a group of Haihan people as prisoners, the forts on both sides of the port will naturally be defeated without attacking.
However, the density of artillery fire on the shore obviously exceeded Liu Xiang's expectation. When more than 20 shells fired in the first round hit the pirate fleet, Liu Xiang became a little anxious - there were not many outside the harbor just now. Fort? Why are there so many cannons when they open fire?
This is of course also because a bunker was specially built outside the fort, and various fake rocks and wood were used to cover up the outline of the fort, making it difficult to distinguish the real firepower of the shore defenses from a distance. Liu Xiang watched the outside for a long time and felt that there were only five or six artillery pieces, which were worthy of a charge. If he was lucky, he might lose one or two ships and be able to land on the shore. But the reality is obviously far from what he expected. The forts at the north and south ends of Wanshan Port are less than 400 meters apart, and the nearest pirate ship is even about 100 meters away. At this distance, a coastal defense gun is used to target the incoming enemy. Bombarding ships in the harbor is actually not much different from putting a gun to your head.
The first round of attacks on the shore defenses at the north and south ends hit two pirate ships each, opening several large holes in the ship's sides. The pirates on the ship shouted, and some used the muskets and bows and arrows at hand to fight back against the forts on the shore. But at this distance, their sporadic counterattacks had almost no effect. A moment later, the dense pirate fleet ushered in the second round of shooting. This time, a slightly larger ship had its main mast directly broken. When the mast fell, it hit another ship parallel to the middle. The boat suddenly blocked another section of the already not very spacious channel.
"Don't stop, keep rushing! Rush to the shore!" Liu Xiang has naturally discovered that he had oversimplified the matter before. The Haihan people's coastal defenses are not a decoration. This forced rush to the port will cost people's lives. It's no wonder that the Haihan people have the guts not to even leave a warship. If a small group of pirates attack, I'm afraid it won't be enough for the artillery on the shore to fill the gap. But now that the matter was over, Liu Xiang certainly did not dare to let the fleet stop and retreat. He could only maintain the current situation and command his men to continue rushing to the dock.
The pirate leader Liu Xiang was frightened by the beating, not to mention the pirates under him. What they heard before setting off was to go to the Haihan Island to transport gold and silver treasures. Even if there was a war, it should be How come a face-to-face contest with gongs and drums turned into a one-sided attack by a cannon? The promised gold and silver treasures haven't been seen yet, but black iron cannonballs as big as their heads keep whizzing towards them. Many pirates who had never seen the power of such an intensive artillery battle were so frightened that they lay down on the deck with their heads in their hands, losing the courage to fight.
During the third round of bombardment, water had already begun to enter the hulls of four or five ships. Although the watertight cabin structure of the Chinese sailboats prevented them from sinking for a while, the slowdown in ship speed and damage caused by the water intrusion The body tilt is inevitable. Among the dozens of pirate ships that rushed into the harbor, the fastest ones had arrived at the dock pier, while the slowest ones were towed at the mouth of the harbor because their hulls were damaged.
However, even if they were lucky enough to escape the shells, the pirate ship that rushed to the shore did not end the nightmare, because at this time, the row of temporary gun emplacements on the shore also removed the obstructions, revealing the black holes of the gun muzzles.
"Adventure No. 1, Expedition No. 1, this is Wanshan Port, you can go out!" After Chen Yixin finished calling on the radio, he picked up his military cap and put it on his head, patted Li Dou on the shoulder and said: "You are here to supervise the battle. , don’t run around, I’m going to the defense line to direct the battle.”
"Okay, okay!" Li Dou nodded repeatedly: "Be careful yourself!"
The Haihan warship, which had been waiting west of Xiaowanshan Island for a long time, finally got the order to go to war. The sailors shouted slogans and raised the sails. The fleet sailed out from the southern end of Xiaowanshan Island in a long snake formation and headed straight for Wanshan Port.
The distance from the back of Xiaowanshan Island to Wanshan Port is not far, so as soon as the Haihan warship fleet appeared, the sentry ship of Liu Xiang's fleet outside the harbor immediately discovered the enemy's traces, and then raised the flag to warn.
However, at this time, Liu Xiang's ship had already rushed into Wanshan Port, and was surrounded by his own sailboats. In the chaos, the crew member responsible for the lookout on the ship failed to see the warning signal outside the harbor at the first time.
Under intensive artillery fire, the first pirate ship finally docked at the dock. A group of desperadoes grabbed various weapons in their hands, jumped directly from the side of the ship to the shore, and then rushed to the artillery position on the slope of the shore in a roundabout way—— If you want to capture the port, you must first destroy this artillery position so that the following ships can safely dock.
However, this kind of charge seemed very futile in the face of the carefully constructed defense line of the Haihan Militia. Only ten feet away from the artillery position, the pirates found that they encountered a very difficult opponent-a chest-high bellows-shaped barbed wire. Moreover, there are many barbs and blades on this kind of barbed wire. If you try to cross it forcefully, you will inevitably be scratched all over. The pirates have to divide their manpower and plan to find some heavy objects or wooden boards to break this line of defense.
But before the chaotic pirate team could figure it out, a musket array appeared next to the artillery position, which made them feel desperate. Four companies of infantry formed a fire output line with a shooting width of more than 100 meters, and the latest Type 28 breech-loading muskets in their hands could hit almost every target at this close range. The first round of shooting killed and wounded at least nearly a hundred pirates, which made Liu Xiang's eyes wide open before he could even land ashore to command the operations.
Artillery continued to bombard the chaotic pirate fleet in the harbor from three directions, north and southeast, while the pirates who landed were hit by dense lead bullets in front of the barbed wire defense line and were unable to move forward. Just as Liu Xiang had worried beforehand, these pirates under his command may still have a certain degree of combat effectiveness when fighting with the wind, but under the current unfavorable situation of being unilaterally attacked, morale fell to the lowest level in a very short period of time. At the bottom of the valley, its performance will not be better than that of the rogue bandits who besieged Lijiazhuang. Although the number of pirate ships docking is gradually increasing, the pirates on the attack line have begun to show signs of fleeing.
Liu Xiang knew that if he retreated at this time, it would be difficult to capture Wanshan Port. He was about to go ashore to supervise the battle in person, but he was grabbed by the thigh. Just as he was about to kick this guy away, he heard Liu Xin crying: "Master, something bad has happened, Haihan's warship came out from behind!"
(End of chapter)