Chapter 387 South Vietnam’s defense methods
During the Han Dynasty, Hue was once under the jurisdiction of Rinan County, Jiaozhou, and its ancient name was Lu Rong County. After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was no longer owned by China and was taken over by the Linyi Kingdom in the south, which later became the Champa Kingdom. In the 14th century, the king of Champa presented Hue as a betrothal gift to Chen Yingzong, the emperor of the Chen Dynasty whose country was named "Dai Viet" at that time. Then the Chen Dynasty renamed Hue Zhou and Huazhou. In the early 15th century, the Ming Dynasty occupied Vietnam and merged Shunzhou and Huazhou into Hue Prefecture, which was subordinate to the Chief Secretary of Cochin. This is how Hue got its name.
As the largest city in the central region of Indochina, Hue has been designated as the capital by the Nguyen Dynasty that occupied the south during the decades of Annan civil strife. It is also the political, economic, and cultural center of the entire South Vietnam region, and its importance cannot be overstated. And metaphor. Since this city is less than 20 miles away from the coast, the Hai Han militia, which intended a quick victory, naturally made Hue the first target for annihilating the South Vietnamese regime.
Of course, Hue Prefecture is not completely defenseless. As the capital of the southern small court, Hue has nearly 30,000 garrison troops stationed inside and outside the city. Originating from the Truong Son Mountains and flowing into the sea from south to north of Hue City, the last organized unit of the South Vietnamese Navy still remains on the Xiangjiang River. Although this naval force basically no longer has the ability to fight at sea, it can also play a certain deterrent role in patrolling and warning in coastal waters and inland rivers.
The thirty-four-year-old Wu Sen is a general of this naval force. Although his position is not low, he can currently directly command less than a hundred combatants. This is because the South Vietnamese Navy suffered heavy losses in last year's battle and have not been able to recover until now. Although the establishment of this force has shrunk by at least three or four times compared to its heyday, the original military attache positions have not been reduced. As for the reduction, the ten general officers who were originally stationed in four seaport cities now had to divide the command of the navy on the Xiangjiang River like beggars.
Wu Sen had been stationed at Hoi An Port before. When the Hai Han militia attacked Hoi An at the end of summer last year, he lost 70% of his men and almost all his ships on the Thu Bon River. Although Wu Sen was not demoted due to the defeat after the war, it was already difficult to restore his former glory. For the time being, he could only serve as a patrol leader on the Xiangjiang River. In the past, such things were done by generals and the like. The subordinate officers are responsible for it, and there is no need for the general to personally do it.
Of course, the officers hope that the Ministry of War can restore the establishment of the navy as soon as possible. After all, Annan is a country on the sea. If the long coastline is not protected by the navy, it will be no different from opening the door to robbers. Moreover, the South Vietnamese navy suffered repeated setbacks in the battle with the Hai Han militia the year before, which made the officers hold back a fire in their hearts, hoping to rebuild the navy as soon as possible before competing with the hateful Hai Han people.
However, although the wish is good, the reality is very cruel. The shipyards in Dong Hoi and Hoi An, where the warships of the South Vietnamese navy were manufactured, were destroyed by the offensive of the Hai Han militia last year. The city of Hoi An was even turned into an abandoned city because of this. , some shipbuilders were also kidnapped by the Haihan militia. It will take at least a year to rebuild the shipyard. In addition, the Portuguese who originally promised to help reneged on their promises before the end of last year. The economic situation under South Vietnam has also continued to deteriorate. The Ministry of War's plan to rebuild the Navy has become Nowhere in sight.
Having great ambition but no way to serve the country is Wu Sen's biggest feeling at the moment. Now there are only about fifty or sixty ships belonging to the navy on the Xiangjiang River, and more than half of them are inland river flat-bottomed cargo ships that cannot go to sea. For example, Wu Sen's current ship is a river cargo ship that was fortunately saved after the Battle of Hoi An. At that time, the owner of the ship saw that the situation was not good and sailed the ship to the upper reaches of the Thu Bon River early, and then escaped. However, after the war, the Ministry of War ordered the collection of civilian ships to rebuild the navy, so the ships were naturally requisitioned by the government.
But even such a cargo ship, which is three feet and seven feet long, is now regarded as one of the largest ships on the Xiangjiang River. Wu Sen looked at the surrounding river. Most of them were small fishing boats with a length of about two feet. They also needed to be paddled manually. This kind of boat was fine for patrolling. He wanted to compete with Haihan, who had a huge hull and powerful firepower. The warship is a joke. Wu Sen couldn't help but think of the scene when the warships of the Haihan Militia crushed his own warships on the Thu Bon River last year, and couldn't help but close his eyes in pain.
In the past month or so, no large ship that had previously gone out in the waters near Xiangjiang has returned. It seems that it is most likely to be in danger and was intercepted by the Haihan warship in the outer sea. Recently, navy boats responsible for patrolling outside the Xiangjiang estuary have discovered traces of the Haihan warships one after another, which gave Wu Sen an ominous premonition.
As a naval general, Wu Sen knew very well how far the Hai Han people's Qiongzhou Island was from Hue. A long-term naval blockade of the Hai Han warships at the entrance of the Xiang River would inevitably require the dispatch of a large number of warships, which meant that they were stationed there. There may be more ships in the nearby waters than currently known, and to achieve such a blockade effect, it is impossible to rely entirely on real-time supplies from Qiongzhou Island. Wu Sen speculates that most of the Haihan people have established temporary docking stations in the nearby waters. As for why the Haihan people worked so hard to blockade the sea outside Hue Prefecture, Wu Sen only thought of one possibility, and that was to pave the way for the subsequent large-scale attack on Hue Prefecture. After all, the Xiangjiang estuary is only a dozen miles away from Hue City. If you go upstream by water, the voyage will only be about thirty miles. The Haihan people must have enough ability to launch an attack on Hue City from the sea, but the existing The South Vietnamese naval forces did not have enough combat effectiveness to prevent the Haihan people from launching such an offensive.
Wu Sen dutifully wrote down his judgments and speculations and reported them to his superiors, but this had no effect. This is not because the commander-in-chief of Xiangjiang's water defense does not pay enough attention to possible crises, but because he cannot come up with any feasible solutions to the current situation.
Knowing that the enemy was on the sea not far from Hue City, the South Vietnamese military did not drive the Hai Han warship away from the sea. Even the small boats sent to monitor the opponent had to keep a relatively safe distance to avoid The enemy easily destroyed him. As for setting up a defense line on the Xiangjiang River, there is no need to have extravagant expectations. If these existing boats can prevent the Haihan people from going deep into the Xiangjiang River, then officers like Wu Sen will not have to worry about the crisis facing Hue City.
What the South Vietnamese Ministry of War can do now is to mobilize as many troops as possible in the ruled area to the vicinity of Hue City to strengthen the city defense. As for the relatively weak water defense, they basically have to leave it to fate. This arrangement caused Wu Sen and his colleagues to fall into a deep sense of powerlessness. As soldiers, they are not afraid to fight for the country and even die on the battlefield. But if resistance has become completely useless, then this Does death really have any meaning?
"Your Majesty, the patrol ship outside the river mouth has sent out an early warning signal. It is suspected that an enemy ship is incoming!"
The urgent military information reported by his subordinates awakened Wu Sen from his sad mood, and he immediately issued an order: "Send a ship to explore again! Raise the flag and put everyone on combat readiness! In addition, send someone to send the news back to Hue City immediately!"
The soldiers raised a red flag on the mast of Takemori's ship to warn their companions on the surrounding river. Half an hour later, further news finally came back - two fleets appeared on the sea near the mouth of the Xiangjiang River, each with a lineup of more than ten ships, approaching each other from the north and south. Although the two fleets did not display flags, some people have identified from the ship shape that this is the Hai Han Navy that attacked Hoi An City in August last year. However, the size of the fleet is larger than that of the attack last year. A lot.
"This day has finally come!" Of course Wu Sen understood that the Haihan people sent so many warships not just to show off their power to the court. Since the envoy sent to the Victory Port for peace talks last year brought back the ultimatum of the Haihan Executive Committee, Everyone in the government and the public has understood that there will inevitably be a battle with the Haihan people in the end. Although Hai Han did not immediately launch a military attack on South Vietnam after the 30-day time limit, everyone knew that the arrival of this day was only a matter of time. Since the Hai Han people had destroyed Hoi An City, there was no reason to let others go. place.
The only way to avoid war is to abdicate the "pseudo emperor" and dissolve the small court of Hue Prefecture in accordance with Hai Han's request, but this is an impossible compromise for the leaders of Hue Prefecture. Whether it is due to the desire for power or the pride that cannot be let go, this battle must be fought to the end. Although the opponent is very powerful, Hue Prefecture does not think that it has even the slightest chance of victory. Based on the situation of many battles, the South Vietnamese War Department can determine that the scale of the Haihan Militia is not large. Based on the information collected through various channels, it can be inferred that the size of its combat troops is only three to four thousand at best. The Ministry of War believes that the reason why the Haihan Militia is so powerful in combat is entirely due to its highly lethal firearms. The South Vietnamese troops, who still use a large number of cold weapons, face the Hai Han militia with long-range weapons and high killing efficiency in a field battle. They can almost only end up with a defeat. However, if the battle takes place near Hue City, they will implement a turtle-style attack. Defense strategy, then maybe the situation will be different again.
The South Vietnamese Ministry of War has also formed a firearms unit, and is very clear about the pros and cons of this new type of army. Although its combat effectiveness is indeed much stronger than that of traditional troops, its disadvantages are also very obvious, that is, it is very dependent on logistical equipment. If If the supply of ammunition cannot keep up, the new army armed with fire sticks will not even be as useful as the traditional army using cold weapons. As the Haihan people cross the sea to attack Hue, material supplies need to be transported from land to sea, and then from sea to land. The supplies needed for thousands of people to fight will undoubtedly be an important factor restricting their combat effectiveness. The South Vietnamese Ministry of War believes that as long as they can Holding Hue City and prolonging the war would put huge logistical pressure on the Hai Han Militia's combat effectiveness.
Another favorable condition for the South Vietnamese War Department is the defensive advantages of Hue City itself. Hue City is located on the north bank of the Xiangjiang River, with a radius of 16 miles. This ancient city with a history of thousands of years has been continuously repaired and managed by dozens of generations. It can be called one of the most fortified cities on the Indo-China Peninsula. A three-foot-wide moat surrounds the entire city. There are two inner and outer moats in the three directions: , north and west. The city wall is more than two feet high. The bluestone wall is solid and thick. All kinds of defense facilities are available on the city wall. In the past two years, a total of 24 bastion-style forts were built throughout the city wall with the help of the Portuguese. , which can be said to be both offensive and defensive. Not only that, there is also an inner city imitating the Ming Dynasty Forbidden City. This inner city has a radius of five miles. The city walls are exactly the same as the outer city. There is even a slightly smaller moat that goes around the city. If necessary, the defenders can abandon the outer city and hold on. inner city to reduce the defensive area. Compared with Thang Long Phu City in the north, except for the slightly shorter city wall, Hue City has much better defense conditions in all other aspects.
The two southeast directions of Hue City are close to the Xiang River. Large troops cannot be assembled on the narrow river beach outside the city. It is impossible for the attackers to launch attacks from these two directions. The defenders can concentrate their defensive forces in the northwest directions. If the attacker transports troops and supplies through the Xiangjiang waterway, then the west side of Hue City will have to go around a large circle of more than ten miles than the north side. As long as the attacking commander's brain is not broken, then choose the north side of Hue City. As the main direction of attack, it has almost become the only choice.
The last substantial help the Portuguese left for the Ministry of War before leaving Hue was to design a defensive position system outside the city for the Ministry of War. This defensive position composed of dense trenches, small fortresses and prismatic defense lines can undoubtedly cause a lot of trouble for any invading army. Before the Portuguese evacuated South Vietnam, they could already predict that Hai Han would arrive at Hue sooner or later. Of course, they had no good intentions in doing so - no matter who wins in the end of this offensive and defensive battle, this defensive position will definitely be greatly increased. attrition on both sides of the war.
Portuguese military advisers even expressed optimism to the South Vietnamese Ministry of War that if the Ministry of War could build defenses of a corresponding scale outside the city in full accordance with the plan, even if troops were not transferred from other areas to return to defense, there would be great hope for the local garrison alone. Can keep the Haihan militia out. So after the Portuguese withdrew, the Ministry of War more or less had the mentality of treating a dead horse as a living horse doctor, and immediately mobilized tens of thousands of civilians to build defensive positions on the plains north of the city.
After more than three months of non-stop construction, a defensive position seven miles wide and three miles deep appeared in the north of the city. This position is filled with criss-crossing ravines, brick and stone bunkers, horse traps, wooden walls, various permanent or movable roadblocks and other dazzling defense facilities, and is stationed with 7,000 loyal South Vietnamese soldiers. The elite officers and soldiers of the imperial court. Even if the Haihan militia has the advantage in weapons, it is not something that can be accomplished overnight simply by relying on weapons.
In addition, large-scale land clearing was carried out in the northwest and northwest directions outside Hue City. All residents within ten miles outside the city were relocated. Even the houses were demolished and all wells were filled up. Trees thicker than an arm's length were cut down to prevent the enemy from using them to build siege equipment. If the enemy who arrives in this area wants to obtain supplies on the spot, they may have to dig up grass roots and earthworms.
Regarding the current actual situation of Hue City, not only the Hai Han people don't know, but the North Vietnamese don't know, and even the Portuguese who proposed the reconstruction plan don't know - of course, even if they knew, they wouldn't be kind enough to tell Hai Han about it. , the more these parties fight each other, the more in line with their interests.
However, compared with the city defense system inside and outside Hue City, which the Ministry of War had high hopes for, the naval troops deployed near the estuary of the Xiangjiang River were almost equivalent to cannon fodder. The main purpose of the Ministry of War to put them here, apart from early warning, is to create as much trouble as possible for the enemies coming from the sea and delay them so that Hue City can have more enemies. Time to prepare for the challenge.
After a long wait, Wu Sen finally saw the hill-like Haihan warship appearing on the water at the mouth of the Xiangjiang River. Compared with the Haihan warship, which was nearly twenty feet long, these small naval boats on the river ready for battle were just like toys. But Wu Sen did not retreat. He knew that he had no way to retreat. If Xiangjiang was lost, he, the naval general, would have no reason to continue to exist, so he had been prepared early in the morning to fight with the hateful Haijiang River. The Han warships perished together.
All the ships deployed by the South Vietnamese navy here were equipped with dry firewood, tung oil and other fire starters, and large one-foot-long iron nails were installed on the bows. The purpose was to rush into the Haihan fleet when it invaded the Xiangjiang River. Used to cause fire. Even if the Haihan warship has powerful artillery fire, it is not easy to deal with the small boat like a maggot attached to the bone in the inland river. Wu Sen did not expect to defeat the powerful Haihan people with this trick, but as long as one or two Haihan warships were burned, the lives of himself and his sailors would be worth it.
Wu Sen stood on the bow of the ship, staring intently at the mouth of the Xiangjiang River a few miles away. He would only wait for the Haihan warship to sail into the river, then he would raise the flag and lead his brothers to launch a suicide charge. God is also kind today, and there is a northeast wind blowing. When the wind helps the fire, the Haihan people will surely remember this unforgettable lesson... But why did the Haihan warship not sail into the river, but instead stopped at the shore?
When Wu Sen was at a loss, he didn't know that on the Haihan battleship in the distance, his opponent was observing his fleet with high-power military binoculars.
"The formations are all arranged. It seems that they are planning to launch a long live charge for us!" Qiao Zhiya sneered disdainfully: "You want to wait for our ship to enter the inland river before launching an attack. Do you think we are fools?"< br>
"The Banzai Charge is a little Japanese trick, so don't show off." Wang Tom corrected Qiao Zhiya with a smile: "Their boats are small and they don't have any other means of combat, so they probably can only play with fire boats."
"However, the wise Lieutenant Commander has already seen through everything." Qiao Zhiya laughed and said: "These monkeys should be dumbfounded by now, right?"
(End of chapter)